An Ideal of Ressentiment
by IvoryMaster
Summary: The Service Club has grown since their initial meeting, and they continue their search for something Genuine. But now, a new individual arises and has become impatient with their unchanged dynamic and seeks to accomplish what they couldn't: A request without temperament, "An ideal of resentment that debases the very foundations of their morality."
1. Ch 1 Ascension

**I do not own My Romantic Teen Comedy SNAFU.**

 _The world is a random and meaningless, terrifying place and that we all—spoiler alert—die. Um… we are designed to… most creators are just designed just not to know that. We are designed uniquely to transcend that, to understand that—oooohh! I can quote myself; this is fun—a thing isn't beautiful because it last. That what we have now, right here, has as much meaning as anything we're afraid of, and the way we are designed to do this is that… the main function of the human brain; the primary, instant function is storytelling. Memory is storytelling. We've learn to forget, and we learn to also distort and from the very beginning, we're learning to tell a story about ourselves…. From, you know, the moment we're alive, the idea that stories that we then hear and see and internalized and wear hats from umm… come to conventions about, what would… you know…. We all come here to celebrate only exactly that, storytelling. And through the shared experience of what that gives us, and it may give us strength, it may just distract us. Umm… it may, you know, there's… it can do almost anything. Umm… in fact, for me, it is how we live peacefully, and how we live with ourselves and with each other is we understand our story, everybody else's story; that we are all part of that, and that that story umm… is going to be with us and can be controlled by us, and we can be surprising and delightful and horrifying and all those things, but it is something we can survive because—unlike me—y'all are the hero of the story._

 _Joss Wheadon_

 _Dark Horse:_

 _An afternoon with Joss Wheadon_

 _SDCC 2015_

* * *

" _When comfort is lost, and your greatest fears take up arms against you, **something must die** …"_

 **Hachiman's Point of View**

 _I want something Genuine…. _Even after much timing passing since that event, I still find myself pondering on those exact words, wondering what they even mean though it is just a simple sentence, grammatically speaking. What exactly does that mean to me? What does it mean to Yukinoshita, or Yuigahama? The very concept of Genuine is an enigma to me, and yet, it is something I desperately seek, willing to open myself up to potential pain just to get a tiny glimpse of what that is, watching those around me just to see what it looks like, but never actually getting so much as a single glimpse or description. This was strange because I never let my mind wander so much that memories of that _confession_ would arise. it was… _odd,_ yet… cathartic. But my question is why did I think about this now, here of all places? Maybe it has to do with me being in the same room with the two people I broke down in front of to tell them my desires? To do such an introspection of myself in the club room… It is not like a bad thing; it just… it seems like a very inconvenient time. I know that we all want to reach that Genuine, but none of us have the slightest idea as to how to go about it or even if a task is even possible. No, even if it is impossible, I know that we will still pursue it because it is something that we all want; we made sure that we understood this, even if we have no way of understanding each other. At least, we can understand that much.

It wasn't after I shook myself away from such perplexing thought that I took notice of the clubroom; there was a lack of noise being made. Usually, I would busy myself with reading, drowning out Yuigahama as she went on about her day or her current events taking place with her clique with Yukinoshita, who would take the time to put aside her book to listen to what she had to say, but instead, no conversation existed. Using my acquired abilities, I shift my eyes over to see what was happening. Yuigahama meddled on her phone, texting away to whoever was on the receiving side, probably somebody from her clique. Nothing special there. I shift over to Yukinoshita, and she was doing what I expected: her eyes glued onto her novel and she meticulously read one page after another, without skipping a beat as I heard her turn the page at the same interval. Funny how I actually took the time to notice how long it took her to read a page, but then again, thanks to my loner skills, I shouldn't be that surprised that I took notice of her systematic reading. However, the bigger case was Yuigahama doesn't have anything to say to Yukinoshita. I find it hard to believe that an airhead such as Yuigahama would have ran out of things to talk about, especially in a school setting, where all that "drama" is supposed to take place. With my interest somewhat peak, I decided to utilize more of my skills to actively gather more information around my surroundings. On occasion, I glanced over in their direction to take a mental note of what was happening, and for all the times, it was the same as before, no talking. I adopted a more aggressive stance as I narrowed the time between my check-ups. Everything seemed to be going fine. I don't think that they have…

"What is it, Hikigaya-kun?" Crap! I got too cocky. I should have known that my loner skills would have been noticed by Yukinoshita, someone that seems to have eyes in the back of her head. The circumstances got even more worse as Yuigahama teared herself away from her phone to look in my direction, curious as to what I had to say, which I had none. Knowing Yukinoshita, the way I kept looking at her and Yuigahama, there was either one of two things that she would say: 1) Yukinoshita would make a comment about how I might assault her or attempt to take her chastity away, or 2) she will make some sort of insult that involves my dead… my eyes.

I'm putting my money on the eyes.

"Hikigaya-kun, I asked you a question, or have your dead-fish eyes finally affected your hearing as well?" Called it, though I don't know why I am celebrating internally after she just insulted me. But in any case, she was right. I have to say something to her. C'mon, Hachiman, you have to say something, anything to satisfy these two girls for if I don't explain my answer, then they will surely be annoyed, especially the Ice Queen. If there is one thing that is dangerous, it is that entering into a hasten pensive state because it can have the opposite effect you want and might just blurt out something stupid.

"Umm… no particular reason. It just… I was thinking about… _that_ moment…" I half-heartedly answered, spewing out whatever words that came to my mind.

Wrong set of words, Hachiman.

I waited for whatever backlash that was coming my wave, which only astonished my surprise more when no words were said. Glancing over to learn what was taking her so long, I took notice of the newly adopted expression on both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama faces. Yukinoshita averted her eyes away from mine, closing her book as her lips trembled a bit, struggling to let out a single word. Yuigahama redirected her interest towards the wall as if it was going to tell her some juicy secret. Their expressions were like thunder as I know what was being said without the use of any words: we are not ready to talk about it. To bring up such a time only to garner this type of reaction was reckless of me and down-right foolish. I tugged on my collared shirt to help ventilate my body for I have accumulated unnecessary amounts of heat. If I drawing such a sweat from this, I could only assume that they too were experiencing similar circumstances.

"Oh…" Yukinoshita trails off. "I didn't anticipate you'd be thinking about that moment." Her eyes still didn't meet mine as it seemed hard for her to do so regarding a situation like this. You are not alone Yukinoshita for I don't think anybody in this room could look each other in the eye. If I had to put this current scene in a single sentence… It was awkward. Not in a bad way, but in a surprising way like a deer in the headlights. We haven't really talked about the events that took place on that afternoon because… well, it was difficult. There are things in this world that are difficult, and I have recognized that from a very early stage of life. Opening a pickle jar was up there, and trying to understand a girl's feelings was higher up (not that I have had a girlfriend, but I see a lot of things on the internet comparing what it is like to understand a girl), but _this…_ this circumstance might has well have been all the way to the moon. I still vividly remember Yuigahama's sadden expression when she asked what I wanted for Christmas, which brought up the memories of that fateful day. I know that she didn't bring it up intentionally, but the silence and sheer awkwardness that followed proved that we weren't ready to have such a conversation considering that had recently happened, and judging from what I witnessed now, I don't think we're ready yet either. All I know is an opportunity will present itself in the future when we are capable of discussing what happened, but right now, somebody has to change the subject and fast because I can't stand this feeling of uneasiness that I brought up due to my stupidity of blabbering out incoherent words just to avoid an irritated Yukinoshita, and my loner skills cannot save me out this bind.

 _Ask and you shall receive._ That phrase ran through my mind when the grateful sounds of knocking were able to disrupt the current atmosphere of amassing awkwardness. With Yukinoshita giving the verbal confirmation to enter, the door swung open, producing a regular, brown-haired girl that would visit us from time to time.

"SEEENNNPPPPAAAAIIII!" Isshiki-san screamed at the top of her lungs, which, though annoying, was better than what we were experiencing a few moments ago. _You couldn't have come at a better time, and for that, I thank you._

"Ah, Yahallo, Iroha-san." Yuigahama greeted.

"Good evening, Isshiki-san." Yukinoshita followed.

"Yahallo, Yui-senpai, Yukino-senpai." She returned before focusing her attention towards me with vibrant eyes, expecting me to give her a hello as well.

"…Yo…" I muttered.

"Senpai…" she whined, rather disappointed as she pouted at me with her hands relocating to her hips. "You could put more feelings in your hello's." More feelings? This is how I always say hello to everybody, including my sister, and she doesn't have a problem with it. At least, I don't think so. I redirected my eyes away from her, hoping that she would move on from such an idea, but, to my astonishment, or lack of it, she remained where she was, determined to shake a livelier "hello" out of me like some muscle for a loan shark. She kept up her "cute" pouting face to the point where it just annoyed me. If it was Komachi, then I wouldn't have so much of an issue. If it was Totsuka that gave me that look, I think my heart would have stopped for there is no reality in which I could defy Totsuka, thought it would have been worth it just to see him pout, but this was Isshiki I am talking about; the sly fox of finding ways to get what she wanted. Taking a note from Chamberlin, I decided to appease her.

"Good afternoon…" I said in a livelier-but-not-too-livelier tone, which basically involved raising my voice so that I didn't just utter it on a whim. Isshiki still looked slightly disappointed as she relaxed her arms and let out an audible sigh, clearly showing expressing her expectations not being met.

"That's the best you're going to do, huh?" she asked.

"I gave you your hello. You didn't say how livelier it had to be." I explained. "Anyhow, now that that has been taken care of, what brings you here to the club?" What did bring her to the club? That was a stupid question on my part. Seeing that we have helped her a couple of times, over the past few days, she has been visiting us, increasing the frequency of her visit to the point where it was almost every day. How does she even manage that when she is the student council president? Either she is neglecting her responsibilities, or she just has too much time in her hands, and I am more inclined to agree with the latter.

"What. I can't come here just to say hello and talk to you guys?" she asked.

"It not that you can't come here, but…" I didn't finish my sentence. I didn't feel like answering that question. Here I go again, muttering out words that had no apparent meaning. What is wrong with me today?

"Never mind, you can come here whenever you want, though I do hope that you don't neglect your student council president responsibilities." I finished, changing the subject.

"Though Hikigaya-kun may be rude at times, I am inclined to agree with him, Isshiki-san. Do not ignore the responsibilities of the position you have been elected to." Yukinoshita backed me up.

"You too, Yukino-senpai. I can assure the both of you that I have not been neglecting my responsibilities. In fact, the very first thing I do after classes is check if I do, which today, I don't have any." Too much time in her hands was all that I could think about. Grabbing a chair, she positioned in front of Yuigahama and took her seat, resting her head on her cross forearms.

"So Iroha-san how have you been lately." Yuigahama started up, returning her phone back to her pocket, causing Isshiki to rise up and initiate a conversation with her, causing Yukinoshita and I to return back to our readings.

For the next thirty minutes, the two girls talked back and forth with each other, involving myself or Yukinoshita at times when they had either a question or wanted confirmation on something.

"Senpai, don't you agree that it would be more fun if there were more events at school."

"Am I really the one qualified to answer that question."

"what do you mean by that, Hikki?"

"It means that a lowly person like Hikigaya-kun has recognized that his twisted input would bear no valid opinion to your suggestions. It would be much more efficient to ask a stranger outside the school than to get any valid or sensible input from a person with such twisted ideas."

"Oi… I think my input would be valid."

"Is that so, Hikigaya-kun? Then explain to us your opinion on the matter.

"Let's see…. having more exciting events would probably undermine what you are trying to accomplish."

"What do you mean by that, Hikki?"

"If we have more fun events held at our school, then wouldn't those exact fun events start to lose their significance if the quantity of events held increase drastically. It is like eating the same food everyday: It's delicious at first, but the very act of eating the same food only degrades forcing yourself to eat a food that started out delicious, but becomes more disgusting as time passes due to overexposure of the same taste."

"I guess that does make sense, Senpai."

"Of course it does. Anybody would have figure out something like that. A dream becoming into a nightmare."

"Well, it seems that even someone like Hikigaya-kun has some common sense about a situation like this. I, for one, would tend to agree with such logic, though I would not have phrases it like that."

The rest of the evening was characterized with discussion until the very end of club. There wasn't anything particularly vital within that discussion, but I think that was the point. To be able to have such a conversation with people who are vastly different from you is a miracle in it by itself considering that we each viewed one another differently. Yukinoshita isn't my friend; she rejected my proposal twice saying that a friendship between us would be impossible, but it was clear that we both cared about each other, so by that definition, are we considered friends even if we don't verbally confirm it? The answer, No. On the outside, any normal person would automatically conclude that we were friends, but it is not that simple. Nothing regarding my relationship with Yukinoshita can ever be considered simple, or even Yuigahama on that matter. Friendship requires that all parties acknowledged each other's worth. While we did exhibit this trait, there was something else in the mix that none of us would ever openly admit.

We both were objectifying each other.

Any relationship always starts off with a person projecting something onto everybody that is not himself; we all objectify everybody. I did it with Yukinoshita, and she did it with me. We are both each other's sounding board, and because of that, a friendship between Yukinoshita and myself is incapable of blossoming. With my troubled past, and her dependency issues, it is clear as to why a friendship can't thrive between us because we aren't getting anything from each other. I looked into her to get something out, and she did the same with me, but we were both disappointed when we couldn't find anything. It doesn't help that her objectification of me changed after the Bamboo forest incident, but she still sees some value in me, and I her. Yuigahama is a somewhat different story when it comes to her and Yukinoshita as she was able to get closer to her, but with me, it somehow feels the same though maybe not as complicated. We are all completely different people, and yet, a relationship in able to sprout between the three of us, maybe not seeing each other as friends, but quite possibly something a bit more than acquaintances.

Perhaps this could be the hint as to what I, what we, want?

Returning back to reality, I refocused my attention back to the book at hand and turned the page while the other three continued with their conversation.

 _Perhaps I'm overthinking it… No… I am thinking about it just the right amount_

* * *

 _20 minutes later…_

It was that time of the day as all three of us walked along side each other towards the front entrance gate of the school, with me lagging a bit behind as Yuigahama and Yukinoshita conversed with one another while I walked my bike.

"Ne, Hikki. Do you mind if I call you sometime later today?" Yuigahama sprung up, catching me off guard as I didn't expect for such a question to be asked.

"Um… sure, but why?"

"No particular reason. I just want to have a conversation with you that's all. I don't think I have had a decent conversation with you for a while, and I thought tonight might be a good time." A conversation. If she wanted to have a conversation, she could have had one in the clubroom, so why didn't she? I already knew the answer. She wanted to talk to me by herself, and she doesn't want to involve Yukinoshita. I didn't expect for such a development to occur, but I guess there are some things that Yuigahama doesn't want to talk about with Yukinoshita, and would feel a lot more comfortable if she talked things out with me. I look over towards Yukinoshita, but she kept her gaze straight forward, suggesting that she might already know what I have uncovered, but got the message, and didn't want to be a bother to Yuigahama by asking her straight forward. I looked over to Yuigahama, who stared right back into my eyes, seeing within her eyes that there was something that she wanted to talk about.

"alright." I accepted. "You can call me later in the night, just don't call too late for I do need my sleep." I warned her for if she calls during midnight, there is a chance (100 percent) that I might not pick up mostly out of spite for disturbing my sleep.

"Great. I'll to you later tonight." she rejoiced, finally reaching the front gate. From there, we all parted ways as Yuigahama and Yukinoshita decided to spend a little more time with each other. After we got done saying our goodbyes, I turned around, jumped on my bike, and started my journey towards home. I just hope that Komachi doesn't get too mad for me staying out later than usual.

* * *

 **? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? point of view**

* * *

"It seems… you are all content with where you are." I expressed in a solemn voice, letting that phrase, that cold phrase, sit with me for the longest of time, pondering on what that meant exactly as a sudden gust of wind blew right past me, the cold breeze running across my skin as goosebumps formed. To think that everything they have gone through just to reach this point? A point of… _comfort_? Words could not express the raw emotions surging through me as I watched all of the Service Club members return to their homes without so much as addressing anything. I have been… patient, letting things run their course, staying enthusiastic that circumstances will begin to develop, but now that patience is running thin, and it clear to me that no amount of waiting will ever allow them to scratch beyond the surface, failing to look within. _They are all just… content with their… their…._ I closed my eyes; the realization that I have unearthed was causing my body temperature to heat up, forcing me to relax myself and take deep breaths as to not get too worked up. I couldn't quite describe what exactly I was feeling for it seemed rather wrong. Sadness… melancholy… frustration… anger? All these negative feelings, but none of them quite fully described my current state. Reopening my eyes to _this_ world, I stared out into the horizon as the orange sun began to set as the night from behind creeped its way towards the school. It wasn't until another sudden gust of wind that I felt a small, cold sensation located right underneath my left eye. Whipping away the substance, a closer look revealed the substance to be water, more specifically, a tear. I analyzed my hand for a few seconds, only for a small, rancor-filled scoff to rasp out of my throat.

"Fine… I'll do it myself." I proclaimed, finally realizing that feeling that possessed me. I was going about it all wrong. Emotions shouldn't be dichotomized that easily; it may be true for the Service Club given the roller coaster of emotions they recently went through, but for me, it wasn't all black and white. It wasn't anger, frustration, or even sadness. No… it was anticipation; anticipation for the things that will come to pass. It is clear now the Service Club has no intention of confronting their sins for they have failed to look within themselves and stuck to their comfort. The blame isn't completely on them; it is only natural for people to say in their comfort, but this tend to happen more often than not, and I thought that they might be the exception, but it looks like I was mistaken… again. Regardless, I was a fool to think that anything changed just because they finally had a bit of an understanding of one other since that fateful day in the clubroom. No, calling it an understanding was already glorifying it. I have always been told patience wouldn't go unrewarded, but the seed that they desperately endeavored to sow was planted on infertile land, producing a tree that had beard no fruit.

 _How naïve of them!_

 _How naïve of me!_

I know how that saying goes: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. But nowhere does it say who is to blame if it occurs for a third time? It is assumed that the blame lies on the victim after the first occurrence, but I don't think it is that simple; nothing ever is, at least, not in this situation. No matter, whoever is to blame is irrelevant at this point for its all in the past, and there is no use crying over spilt milk. BUT, I do not intend to allow for a fourth time, a fourth mistake, to occur.

Brushing back my hair, I straightened my posture out, readjusting my ribbon tie, and walked towards the roof's door, fully aware of what has to come to pass, even if the actions I take will yield such destructive consequences for them and for me. Though, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't ecstatic. I don't think even _she_ would be able to conduct what I was about to undertake. It is all about perspective, and if she were to learn more about me, then she would most likely come to the same conclusion I have made of her.

"Just you wait, Hikigaya Hachiman, Yukinoshita Yukino, and Yuigahama Yui, for _I_ am going to show you something _Beautiful_ _._ "

* * *

 **Well that it. The first chapter of what I am creating, and I thought it would be good to at least post the first completed chapter. To those of you who have read my other works, I know this story, given how SNAFU presents itself, will be a challenge for me. To be honest, seeing that I am not going to post anything for a while in regards to this story, certain action might be taken after a sufficient amount of time has passed.**

 **As I had mention, I would like to give thanks to rohasshiki, Predator7, blank-san, The Mighty Zingy, cadeskywalker1990, Ausko, Pan-chan The Panda, and StoryTelleroftheMist for attempting to answer my question for me and for themselves. All your varied answers will come into handy as to how this story will unfold. Anyways, thank you all for putting up with my thought-provoking questions.**


	2. Ch 2 Legacy

_What the…? "How exactly did I get here in the club room, and where is everybody?" I asked myself though I wouldn't get an answer seeing that I was the only occupant in the room. No Yukinoshita and no Yuigahama… that is already starting to sound a bit ominous for my taste._

 _One of the first things that was impossible to miss was the room lied in darkness, nothing but the moonlight providing just enough light for my eyes to adjust. And that's another thing, why am I in the school after hours? I clearly remember… wait, I don't… remember. Okay, this is starting to get creepy, not Ebina's BL fetish creepy, but more crapping-my-pants creepy for not remembering going to school, especially during the middle of the night. If this is some sick joke committed by someone, let me be the first to say that this is not funny. Even for a loner like myself, I find this going a bit too far. Rising from my chair, I look around to see for any clues as to why I was here, but I found no clue whatsoever. It wasn't until I looked outside that I spotted one big abnormality that was impossible to miss. The moon… it was a lot larger than usual. I don't remember hearing anything on the news about having a super moon any time soon. Was this some sort of coincidence? Judging by my sudden arrival at the school with no explanation whatsoever, I am inclined to say no; it feels… deliberate, and realizing that only increased my trepidations._

 _My thought process was immediately shattered when quiet moans of distress bombarded my ears. If that wasn't unsettling, then the next part would because for some inexplicitly strange reason, I recognized those moans of distress and who they belonged to, though I was hoping that it wasn't who I thought. Focused on finding the person, I quickly approached the door and opened it, but was immediately stopped as I collided into a person, stumbling a few steps back. Shaking away my momentary disoriented state, I look up and get a clear view of the person for it was none other than the school idol himself, Hayama. Despite the question why he was here at night, standing in front of the door, the more prominent question was what was wrong with him? He wasn't his usually cheery self. My evidence… well, he glared at me with unsuppressed enmity, along with him gnashing his teeth and him clutching his fist. My assumption is that he was definitely mad; anybody can tell that, but why was he directing that anger at me? In any case, I don't have time to deal with his problems; I have better things to do then to listen to him whine. Dusting myself off, I endeavored to walk past him, taking on an expression that shows that I don't want to hear him complain, but clearly he has something he wants to get off his chest. Evidence… for starters, he shoved me right back into the room with unrestrained force, knocking down on my bottom._

" _What's your problem?" I hissed, only once seeing such a side of him during the Sagami incident on the roof. Since I already started talking, might as well get some answers out of him. "Why are you here, and how did I get here?" Hayama remained in his selective silence, keeping his scornful stare directed at me. It is not like I wasn't used to it; I still remember all that hateful talk and nasty glares I got in school, but what exactly did I do to make him so anger at me? He must have a reason for surely the school idol wouldn't go out of his way to pick on someone who everyone thought as disgusting. "Are you going to answer me or what?" More of the silent treatment. Fine, be that way, I don't care about whatever problems is troubling Hayama. If he wants to keep quiet like some child that is angry at his parents… no skin of my back. I have bigger things to worry about, like figuring out how to bypass him. Judging by his appearance and stance, he doesn't look intend on stepping aside, and I'm not the biggest guy around, but I am still going for it. Bracing myself, I accelerated myself from my standing position, gaining more momentum as I charged at him, but to my astonishment, Hayama pivots on his right leg, stepping aside as I charged right next to him. It was when we were crossing each other that he finally contributes to the conversation._

" _I hate you." He uttered, full of distain and bitter truth as I charged right past him. Coming to a brute stop, I look back at him. He gives me one more nasty glare before he started walking towards the right, opposite of where the crying was coming from. Regardless of whatever crawled up his ass, whatever I supposedly did to him to illicit such a drastic response, I don't care; I'll deal with him later, but right now, I need to go the source of the weeping._

 _The crying continued to echo as I drew closer to the source as I walked down the moonlit hallway. Now that I think about it, the hallways are lot scarier at night. I can now see why some people would see a school as an ideal place for horrifying events to take place, and the crying that echoed and grew stronger as I approached the corner added more to the horrific aesthetic. But that aesthetic was nothing compared to the distraught I was experience if my suspicions were correct. Before I could make the corner turn, two more figures emerged, walking with their heads hanged low. It was Miura and Ebina. Like Hayama, they weren't their usual selves. Both were possessed by some unnatural sense of hopelessness, indicated by their defiance to hang their heads at normal level. It was when they laid their eyes on me that their expressions drastically changed. Ebina faced morphed into one of utter despair as her pupils constricted upon my sight, tearing herself away from my eye contact. Miura, the complete opposite, was engulfed in a palpable fury, staring me down like some sort of harden criminal. She stomped her way towards me with a relentless glare that would make any body uncomfortable if caught on the other end, like she was trying to induce spontaneous combustion. Now a few centimeters away, she quickly raised her right hand up, preparing to deliver a nasty hit with all her strength. However, right as her hand reached the zenith, hesitation has restrained her hand from proceeding. Every fiber in her being screamed to commit the action, but something else was is directing her otherwise as tears formulated at the corner of her eyes. What could have possible happened to cause Ebina, Miura, and Hayama to act differently? What have I done to them? I continued to watch as Miura's hand trembled as intention and restrained conflicted within her, only allowing tears to continue to gradually gravitate down her cheeks. Finally, Ebina made an action as she took a hold of Miura's raised hand and dragged her out of the confrontation, speed walking away while holding onto Miura._

" _You disgust me, Hikigaya Hachiman." Miura snarled, calling me by my full name. First Hayama, now Ebina and Miura. This cannot be a coincidence. They are all hurting, and they put their blame on me, yet, I have no knowledge of doing anything to them._

 _Hesitation gain a firm grip on me as I stood in front of the corner. Could it be that their anger was related to whatever lies beyond that corner? Do I really want to find out what's beyond that corner? Logically, Yes, but a part of me doesn't because I already know who it is, but I just don't want to believe it._

 _I plunge myself into the beyond, turning the corner, only to have my worst realizations solidified. Kneeling right in the middle of the hallway, her back towards me as she cried into her hands, Yuigahama existed. I have prepared myself for some serious things due to my loner status, liking handling reticule, but none of that helped with the situation presented in front of me, once again, being caught in the headlights. It is not like I have seen her like this before; there were times where I was the cause of her distress, but nothing of this magnitude as she continued to sob, her weeping of agony reverberating throughout the hallway._

 _Complete Devastation…_

" _Yuigahama…" I let my presence be known, but that might not be the best thing to do. The sound of my voice ceased her crying, picking her head off her hands and reluctantly twisted her body around like she didn't want to see what was behind her. Once fully turned, I stared into her tear-ridden eyes saturated with melancholy and despair. Like Ebina, her pupils constricted, and her expression adopting mortification. Her lips trembled as she attempted to force something out._

" _No… Stay back." She whispered, gently shaking her head as she pushed herself backwards on the floor using all four of her appendages._

 _Fear…_

 _That is what I saw in her entire body. Sadness had transformed into fear, something that we all experience. The kind of fear stricken on her was similar to a victim confronting the killer, or facing against a demon. Why… why does she look onto me with that those kinds of eyes: why was she afraid of me? I take one step closer to her, only making the situation worse as a natural fear response jolted out._

" _NO! stay back! Don't get any closer!" Yuigahama shrieked, instantly flipping herself around as she took off in a sprint from her seated position. However, the constraints from her awkward position caused Yuigahama to trip between her transition, skidding hard on her right knee._

" _Yuigahama…"_

" _I told you to stay back!" she repeated, quickly picking herself up, enduring the pain she sustained and limped away at an alarming rate._

 _The last time I had witnessed such an action that defies someone's character was when Yukinoshita ran out of the clubroom after telling them both what I wanted, and now, something similar occurred, but I don't know the reason for it._

 _Is this one of the challenges to achieving that Genuine thing? To see such a pained and trepidatious expression plastered on Yuigahama?_

 _Without thinking, I went after her, passing by the drops of blood she left behind where she landed. For being injured, she was remarkably fast, but speed wasn't an issue for I had an idea on where she was heading, Reaching an intersection, I turned to the left, but was surprised to find Isshiki standing in my way as I almost bumped into her, but luckily stopped. She, too, bore the same melancholic expression like everybody else._

" _Why… Senpai? Why would you do it?" She let out, her voice breaking up mid-sentence. I go in to voice in my thoughts, but she raised her hand right at the moment. She didn't want to hear it. "I trusted you, and… and…" At this point, she couldn't finish the sentence. Closing her eyes, she pushed me aside and ran down the hallway with all her speed._

 _Isshiki, I… as much as I want to go after her, Yuigahama is my primary concern. It was not because I came across her first, but there was something in danger that I didn't want to lose with her for I have invested more than time and energy into it. As cold as that may seem, I would have to let Isshiki go for a moment._

 _Continuing on following her, I find myself in front of the door to the roof. As place my hand on the door handle, but hesitated to turn. Was it doubt that stopped me? But it was, then that would mean that I would have regretted something, but I don't remember anything. Regardless of whatever was stopping me, I pushed open the door. Standing right in front of me, I find Yuigahama in the arms of Yukinoshita, sobbing away on her shoulder as Yukinoshita attempted to comfort her. The strained look on Yukinoshita's face said it all. She knew that she wouldn't be able to comfort her completely. Taking a closer look revealed tears flowing down Yukinoshita's face as well. I don't know what to think of this at all. I thought I have seen the worst of it when Yuigahama was collapsed on the floor, but seeing the two people who I confided to in extreme states distress didn't bode well with me. Looking up above them existed a blood-red harvest moon. I could feel my heart pounding as all of this felt… surreal…_

 _I was dragged away from my thoughts when I took notice of Yukinoshita glaring daggers at me. Unlike the other times where she has shot me a similar look, the look she was giving me was energized with animosity. Letting go of Yuigahama, who collapsed down to her knees and continued to sob, Yukinoshita took several steps in my direction, wiping away her tears, though quickly replaced with new tears._

" _I hate how you always do these things." I heard that phrase again, sending off that unsettling sensation I have experience before in the past. "Even after everything you asked of us, you still haven't changed." She wiped away more tears. "I was… wrong about you… again. Hikigaya Hachiman, what or who are you?" she questioned me, exerting her best efforts not to breakdown like Yuigahama as she balances between seething rage and utter despair. "And here I thought you could… on that ride…" she turned her head away._

" _Yukinoshita…"_

" _Hikigaya-kun…" she regained her composure. "Your actions and your thought process are truly despicable and loathsome." Tears began to stream once more. "Which is why… there is no… use for you in the Service Club anymore." She decreed, using up all her composure to get that much out in the air before she returned to Yuigahama and collapsed down the floor, embracing her tightly._

" _But…"_

" _My, my, Hikigaya-kun. I didn't think you had it in you."_

 _I recognized that voice; please, anything but her._

 _That voice… capable of causing even the mightiest of men to tremble; the kind of voice that sends chills down your spine. I sluggishly turned around, only to be greeting with that deceptively deadly smile belonging to one Yukinoshita Haruno. There are just some things that will always remain constant, like permeability of free spade constant or the gravitational constant, and unlike everything that has happened recently, Yukinoshita Haruno's smile has gone unchanged._

" _Didn't I warn you the first time we met to not make Yukino-chan cry." She enunciated, squinting her eyes while keeping her devilish smile. "And now look at her, my cute, little sister crying herself away on the floor." Her smile grew more wicked. "Hachiman Hikigaya… you truly are an interesting person." She drew closer, causing my heart beat to speed up with each approaching step. "Tell me, how does it feel to have accomplished something that I wasn't capable of doing?" What was she talking about? Yukinoshita Haruno was capable of a lot of things, making it hard to believe that I was capable of something that she isn't. but what was it that she was referring to? Without realizing it, Yukinoshita Haruno drew so close that I didn't her draw her hand from her pocket and gently grapping my chin. "And yet… you couldn't care less, could you. I was right on that phone call we had a while back, though there was a minor mistake on my part." Her head drew near to mine, feeling the warm exhaust from her breathing on my face._

" _You are not a monster of logic… To cause such pain to cute Yukino-chan, Gahama-san, Hayato-kun, and even his 'friends'… You're just a monster." She finished with no sign of her fictitious smile on her, only existing a vacant expression on her,with her eyes cold and… furious, something that I have never seen in Yukinoshita Haruno. I could feel the sweat slowly dripping down the back of my neck. She soon withdrew, pulling her head away from mine as she made her way towards the door._

" _Do me a favor, Hikigaya-kun… try not to spoil the fun next time…."_

* * *

"Gahhhh!" I sprang out of my lying position, franticly looking around 360 degrees, padding down my entire body to make sure that I was fine.

 _What the hell was that?_ Looking around, my nerves began to calm a bit once I realized that I was in my room, apparently freaking out in the middle of the night. I reached for my phone and awoke it, only to read that it was 2:00 a.m. Taking deep breaths, I took this time to evaluate the situation.

"It was only a dream." Correction. If it was a dream, then I would have continued to be sleeping while my sweet angel Totsuka would beckon for my arrival. No matter if it was in my dreams or reality, I would always come to your rescue, my sweet angel Totsuka. Getting off track here, right. Anyways, that wasn't a dream; it was a nightmare, and a hellish one at that. I already have enough to deal with in my actual life; I don't need my dreams to become a hellish nightmare for it is the only place where I can find some solace is this backwards world. And for those who think that it wasn't a nightmare; first off, screw you. Second, it was a nightmare because it had Yukinoshita Haruno. **Any** circumstances involving that she-devil of social status and teasing will automatically be a nightmare, whether in reality or in a dream. My encounters with her always drain so much energy just so that she doesn't dictate the flow of the conversation by employing her teasing tactics, and even then, I still end up failing before her. This is not to mention she knows just how to push Yukinoshita's buttons. What exactly does Yukinoshita Haruno want? Whatever the reason is, she has no business being in my dreams. I can just imagine that sinister smirk on her face quietly mocking me if she were ever to found out that I had a dream about her; she'd never leave me alone. As a loner, I have gone through some rough times: Rejections (once), smack talk, threats, you name it. But, seeing that I had one of these rough times in my own dreams, I think I deserve a cup of juice in the middle of the night.

Getting off my bed, I quietly and cautiously maneuvered through the hallways. Don't want to wake up Komachi or my parents, since they basically work all day long and essentially collapse on the couch. Reaching the kitchen with no disturbances, I opened the fridge, pulled out the carton of orange juice, and poured myself some in a glass. There is nothing better grabbing some O.J. in the middle of the night after you have yourself a nightmare. The sweet taste of the orange juice stimulating my mouth almost made the ordeal worth it. _Almost._

But still, that nightmare was crazy and… vivid. Why did something like that spring up out of nowhere? I don't remember going through any traumatizing events since yesterday, so why did my mind suddenly decide to betray me like that? I tried to think about it, but nothing came to mind. The reason being it is 2:00 in the morning; my body and brain ache for sleep, and I don't blame them for I too enjoy my slumber. Returning the carton back to the fridge, a placing the glass in the sink, I stealthily returned to my room, successfully navigating the hallway once more with little error, except for that one step a I took where the floor decided to sing its song of creaking as I put pressure on it, but luckily, nobody woke up. Laying myself back on my bed, I prepared myself to fall sleep once more, but there was only one problem. I couldn't, not after what I went through, so I was time to employ plan B: Stare at the ceiling until I fell asleep. Time consuming, but effective.

With nothing better to do, I let my mind wonder, and then it hit me. Yuigahama was supposed to call me, but she never did. I actually stayed up a little past my usual time. Knowing her, she probably just forget about it. Argg, sometimes, I wish Yuigahama could be more collect and well organized like Yukinoshita. I'm not saying that she may be the cause of it but, maybe me staying up a little after my bed time had something to do with that nightmare I had. I know that causation is not correlation, but I can't help but wonder if maybe this was the case? The best thing I could maybe argue for is coincidence? Probably. Whatever, I'll just talk to Yuigahama about his at school later. She probably does have a good reason for not calling me when she was so adamant about it outside the school. I can feel my eye lids start to become more heavy. It seems that Plan B was working, and now it was time to put this entire…

 _Bzzzt._

Damn it! Who the hell is texting me at this hour? Don't they know that I need my slumber? Me being awake right now is beside the point—the point is one shouldn't be texting right now. Grudgingly, I extended my hand towards my phone and clicked the button as I brought it up to my face. I swear, if it is Yuigahama texting me right now, then I going to have to give her a talk about when it is appropriate to send me text. I froze, looking at the horror at what was on my phone, but being caught off guard by the sender.

Yukinoshita Haruno.

I don't know if she has telekinetic powers or not, but there is no way that she knew that I was awake at this time. My mind was screaming coincidence at me, but seeing that I had that messed-up dream, I'd say I used up my coincidence for the day. Damn it, why did this happen to me? What can she possibly want from me at 2 in the morning? I had either two options, ignore it by playing the ignorance card, or take it. While the ignorance sounded very tempting, knowing Yukinoshita Haruno, she'll find a way to get what she wants, and that means her using more of her tactics against me. My goals regarding that She-devil is to limit my interaction with her as much as possible. I already accepted the fact I can't completely avoid her, but I do have a say in how much I see her. I already had that nightmare, I just want to go to bed, so whatever she wants couldn't be all that bad, right?

 _Hey, are you dreaming about me?_

…

I stand corrected.

 _You probably are? In which case, I don't have a problem with that. You are a growing teenage boy, so it is only natural for you to have those kinds of dreams._

Get to the point, damn it. Besides, I am not your average teenage boy, and she knows that, so I can only deduce that the first part of her text is just to tease me by using biology.

 _Anyway, I want to talk to you. Come to Saizes after your club duties. Don't tell sweet Yukino-chan, and don't keep me waiting. ;)_

I must still be in my nightmare for this can't be real.

After I pinched myself—several times I might add—I came to the harsh truth that this was reality, painful, unfair, unforgiving reality. You know, I just hit me that the only difference between reality and my dreams is… there is no difference. The world really is cruel to those who just want to get by. Yukinoshita Haruno wants to have a talk with me, regarding what. I don't know. But it would be unwise of me to not show up for she is capable of many things that I can only fathom. She always has an agenda; all her actions have a purpose for some greater goal, no matter how minuscule some actions of hers might be. Take this message for example. Most likely, I would have been sleep—let's not talk about percentages right now—yet she still sent them message, knowing full what I was most-probably doing. So, the only logical reason that she would send this message is to disturb my sleep. And boy, did it work for I am not sleepy anymore. Whatever might lie in store for me today, there is one fact that I will argue that will be true…

Tomorrow is going to suck.

* * *

 **For those of you who like Haruno Yukinoshita, I have another story that is out revolving around her. Nobody would be foolish enough to challenge her, not if they knew what was good for them, but someone does, and let just say, this _person_ "is unique, and he is in pain… but that pain will roll over the Earth..." Sound familiar? If you are interested then go check it out, plus there is a question that I think is worth looking and pondering over.**

 **Don't forget to leave you highly-sought reviews.**

 **Until then…**


	3. Ch 3 Worth

"Onii-chan…" I hear Komachi's sweat, gentle voice bombarding my ear. Why is she calling me at this time? She knows to never disturb my slumber for I enjoy it very much, and I would like to slumber more especially since of my night-time inconvenience. I need my sleep my dear sister, so please come back at a more convenient time. Disregarding her, I bury my head deeper into my pillow, hoping to at least gain 5 to 10 more minutes of precious sleep.

"Onii-chan!" I hear her again, the intensity of her voice more vibrant as her almost yell is venomous to my drowsy state. There is no way to get rid of her, meaning there is one thing I can do. Groggily, I unbury my head out of the depths of my pillow… sweet thing, placing my arms in a push-up position, pushing myself up until I am sitting up. I take my hands and begin wiping away the sleep lingering in my eyes before I attempt to open them. Big mistake. The sheer brightness of the outside world is too much for my darkness-adjusted eyes as my rods are over-saturated with this light, forcing me to jerk my head away and my shut my eyes immediately. Is this how a vampire feels? Because if it is, I can certainly sympathize with one seeing that my eyes are, in a sense, burning as I almost let out a hissing sound like a vampire. Taking a few seconds to recover, I attempt once more to open my eyes to the world, but once again, I shield my eyes from the intense brightness, but I last a bit longer than the first time, which is progress so I can't complain. This small routine continued for two more attempts before my eyes finally adjust to the light setting. I am in my room, so that is a good sign that I am not dreaming. Looking off to my side, I see none other than the bright, cheerful smile of my cute little sister, standing right at the foot of my bed, holding her hands behind her back, slightly bending over as if she is examining me through curiosity. Oddly enough, Komachi is already dressed in her school uniform, all prepared to leave at a moment's notice.

"Why are you already dressed? We still have some time before school starts?" I question her, a big yawn escaping my mouth towards the end of my question. One of Komachi's eye brows raises up, like I have just said something incomprehensive. It eventually rests back to its natural position, pulling up one finger as if she is going to lecture me.

"Silly Onii-chan." She teases. "You haven't checked the time, have you? You should check and get ready or you're going to be late. Luckily, you have a dear, caring, younger sister looking out for you and waking you up. Ooooh! I am sure that got me some Komachi points right there!" She laughs, twirling around and running out of my room. Late? What is she talking about? I still have…

8:00! This is not good, not good at all! Why didn't my alarm go off? I look over to the alarm, and for some miraculous reason, it is unplugged. How is that even possible? Wait, what about my phone alarm, surely it must have gone off? I set it up just in case one of these predicaments occurs. I grab my phone off the counter and unlock the screen. It is times like these that I tend to agree with Yukinoshita about my intelligence, but I would never openly admit that because I have miraculously forgotten to set up the alarm. However, I am not too startled about this fact because I have other reasons to be startled about for on my phone screen, it displayed one of the main reasons why I might have forgotten to set the alarm up on my phone. Besides the horrific nightmare, which persists in my mind, the real reason why I didn't set up my alarm glares at me intensely through the screen as such simple characters form such a fearsome name. I am, of course, referring to the She-devil herself, Yukinoshita Haruno, and the message she left me at 2:00 o'clock in the morning, asking me—or ordering me—to meet her at Saize's right after club activities. Why she wanted to see me; I have no idea, but if she is willing to wake me up at 2:00 o'clock in the morning for something she could have sent around this time only means that she wants something, and it looks like I am the only one who can qualm that intrusive curiosity of hers. I can already picture it now. Her sitting right across from me, resting her head on one her hand with a slight bored expression, examining me with those curious yet calculating eyes, a wicked grin manifesting just to unnerve me, waiting for the precise moment to pounce on me like a ferocious tiger attacking its meal, her words acting like her claws to rip away at my flesh. Brrrr! Just thinking about it sends a cold shiver up my spine.

If there is anything that I have learned since my unfortunate meeting with her, one thing that I cannot stress enough is Yukinoshita Haruno is somebody you _do not_ want to be on her bad side. She is far more capable than she lets on; I can personally attest to that, seeing that I was able to, with my loner eyes, bypass that felicitous façade she masquerades behind. Yukinoshita Haruno is a charismatic individual belonging to a prestigious family while mercilessly cutting down those who are _uninteresting_ with _kind_ gestures. Emphasis on the word _kind_ for those with ignorance or innocence will mistake her generosity as sincere, and ultimately lead to their downfall, never able to look past her carefully-crafted image to even begin to understand her motives, what drives her to make such _kind_ gestures. Maybe _uninteresting_ isn't the right word here; it doesn't adequately describe how Yukinoshita Haruno choses those who she finds interesting. The first word that comes to mind is… _unworthy_ **.**

Yes, Yukinoshita Haruno will not waste her time and energy to those she deems unworthy. The complete disregard to Hayama could suffice as reason for this observation, which says a lot about her character as she deems _perfect_ people uninteresting and unworthy. Yukinoshita Haruno is, by definition, is a terrifying person because of her advance ability to control social interaction in her favor.

She _is_ a perfect storm of social interactions.

This description of Yukinoshita Haruno would certainly categorize me as somebody worthy of her time and energy. She constantly pokes fun at me all the while testing my psychological endurance, going out of her way just to watch me scramble as she lays back with a teasing smile tugging on her lips. I can only assume she has bigger plans in the works, and her constant meddling in my affairs and Yukinoshita's will all serve to fuel this greater plan.

But the big kicker to all of this is Yukinoshita Haruno doesn't acknowledge me as somebody worthy. The way her eyes look down on me is filled with condescendence and superiority, and yet, it is that same condescendence that is driven by an uncanny, misplaced sense of interest. Yukinoshita Haruno doesn't see me as worthy, but her constant meddling and her unorthodox interest would indicate otherwise. So, what is it that I am left to draw upon? The answer: there is something else at work, something I have yet to recognize, and Yukinoshita Haruno loves the idea of my lack of awareness.

 _Always trying to read in between the eyes… I quite like that you know…_

Whatever she sees in me, I am sure that she will eventually make sure that I am aware of it. It is just the type of person Yukinoshita Haruno is, and she'll do this one way or another, as long as it forces something out of me, she is satisfied, so this meeting with her could just be some ploy to help me understand further what I am missing, and she'll give me hints as to what that is in the worst possibly way… with a _kind_ gesture.

I digress for I have more important matters to attend to for currently, I am running late, and looking over at the time brings me back from my pensive state. A phantom pain located around my abdomen begins to resonate as the idea of arriving late to class haunts my stomach. I can feel it now: a fist with the density of a rock jabbed into my stomach by Hiratsuka-sensei, achieving some sort of sick pleasure out of it, even though she will reason that it is only punishment. I rub my stomach with tenderness. Don't worry for I will make sure the mean teacher doesn't lay a finger on you, not if I have anything to say about that.

With my bed as the starting line, my race against time begins, with the first objective being taking a shower. I jump out of bed, automatically starting off in a sprint once I land. After taking –what I believe is a record time—shower, I speed walk back to my room, beginning to dress myself in my school uniform. I am aware that my wardrobe doesn't comply with the dress code as I don't bother to wear a tie. If that is the case, then the teachers shouldn't care if I come in more unprofessional, as long as I have the uniform, they shouldn't have a problem. This is a valid assumption because in my haste for dressing up, I compromised the my appearance in the process. My white undershirt isn't tuck in properly, my hair is in disarray as I substitute my hands for combs, and I am not wearing the same two white socks. At this point, I don't give a second thought to my appearance, as long as I am in the classroom on time, I should be golden. However, I am likely to snake out an unwarranted comment from Yukinoshita about my preparation skills or appearance. I can handle it for I would take an insult from her any day if I don't have to have a fist lodged into my stomach from my brute of a teacher. The phantom pain returns upon thinking about Hiratsuka-sensei once again.

Now that my transformation is completed more or less, I grab my school bag, shove the necessary materials into it, and race out of my room, using the almost frictionless floor to slide myself in front of the stairs. And here is where I became gusty. In the interest of saving time, I take massive leaps down the stair, skipping every other step to salvage that half of second necessary to contribute to my commute time. However, upon my fifth step, the almost frictionless floor turns on me in a instant. I foot lands on the eight step at an awkward angel that forces my foot to slide across the step, causing my body to follow suit. It would have been a mess if my quick-reflexes haven't come in just in time as I grip onto the handles of the stairs, saving me from a worst-case-scenario result. Once at the bottom, I run into the kitchen, interested in obtaining fuel for myself, preferably fuel that can be eaten on the go. Komachi, being the sweet, caring sister I love, took the liberty to toast two slices of bread as two freshly popped-out toast emerge from the toaster, warm for consumption. That action right there is why she deserves to have some Komachi points. Grabbing both toast, I insert one in my mouth letting it dangle like in anime where the main character is running late and only eats toast for the convenience. I exit through the front door, the morning's brisk air making itself known as the cold, palpable atmosphere invigorates my exposed skin, creating goosebumps in the process. Next to my bike, I see Komachi waiting patiently on her phone. She looks right at me, and sends me a warm smile that relinquishes away my goosebumps.

"Wow, Onii-chan. You prepare fast, but you look kind of sloppy. How are you supposed to get a girlfriend if you don't take better care of your image?"

"Who said I wanted a girlfriend. If I did have a girlfriend, then she wouldn't care how I look like, Komachi." I fire back.

"That's true, but at this rate, you won't ever find one unless you take better care of how you look. I think I am going to reward myself with some Komachi points there for giving you some much-needed advice, Onii-san. But at any rate, we should really get a move on so your precious little sister isn't late for school." Not if I had anything to say about it, my dear Komachi. After all, you are talking to the loner with highly-developed skills for many situations, and this happens to be one of those situations. I have been taking Komachi part way to school for a while now. At first, it was a complete drag for her route, as well as mine, has some hill areas, which I had to excruciating pleasure to pedal up Monday through Friday. I would reach Soubo barely being able to walk properly. However, that was the past, and this is the present; there is no doubt that I developed some exceptional leg muscle and stamina over the weeks; almost like a work-out of sorts. So with this in mind, I can exert myself more and pedal faster to school. If I don't have to wait for cars and if a little bit of luck on my side, I estimate I'll reach the school with minutes to spare. Looks arduous, but I accept the challenge. I unlock my bike, take my sit, and wait for Komachi to properly adjust herself on my bike. Right when she gives me the go ahead, I slam my foot on the pedal and immediately start hauling ass. My phantom pain begins to resonate once more as the thoughts of arriving late weighs heavily on my mind. My stomach is on the line here, and I don't intend for my stomach to be a punching bag for my teacher.

"Onii-san, slow down!" Komachi alerts me. Sorry, But I don't want to be late, so please bear with me, Komachi. After a few hilly areas, a couple of lefts and rights, I reach the drop off point for Komachi.

"Take it easy next time, Onii-chan. You don't to hurt your precious little sister." She expresses with a pout.

"Sorry." I quickly wave good-bye before I book it out of there. I still have a ways to go, and if the crosswalks are on my side, there just might be chance. Will I be late? Will Hiratsuka-sensei punish me? I don't have all the answers, but you can be damn sure that I refuse to be late. I pedal up to a crosswalk and just when I was about to cross, it turns red, allowing for the perpendicular traffic to go.

"Damn it!"

* * *

 **Yui's Point of View**

Hikki is going to be late. This is so unlike him. Usually, during this time, he would be at his seat, resting his head on his forearms, listening to his music, acting like his usual self. I would sometimes catch him look in our direction, observing us with a distinct look. I would smile at him and send him a low-key wave as to not attract too much attention, but that only makes him shrug away, looking annoyed, and not even waving back at me. But now, there is only five minutes left till school, and Hikki still hasn't arrived yet, and I am becoming worried because he is usually here by now. Plus, and if he gets in trouble, then Hikki will be called down to the teacher's lounge where Hiratsuka-sensei will punish him, which worries me because there are times where Hikki will arrive at club gripping his stomach and slouched over.

"Hey Yui, what are you doing?" Yumiko ask, not realizing I am spacing out and looking into empty space.

"What? Oh, it was nothing. I just have a lot on my mind is all." I answer her.

"I see…" Yumiko returns her attention back to her phone as she is in the middle of a text, but stops once more and looks at me again.

"Speaking of which, have you seen Ebina?"

"Ebina… I think she went to the bathroom." I answer.

"Well, she better hurry up. Class is about to start, and if she is late, she will definitely be punished." Yumiko looks around the room, like she has just noticed something different. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen Hikitani-kun yet. Isn't he usually at his seat, slouching and listen to his music."

"Oh, Hikki. Well, I haven't seen him yet. He is probably running late." Yumiko puts down her phone, having a thoughtful expression. She looks over to Hikki's desk once more before she gingerly smiles.

"Hmm… well, I wouldn't mind seeing him getting punished." She muses to herself. Other than that being unusual for Yumiko doesn't really talk about Hikki much, I don't say anything and walk myself towards the window, looking out at the front gate, hoping that he would eventually pop out from behind. I do hope that he comes for I owe him an apology. I was supposed to call him yesterday, but I ended up not doing so for I changed my mind. I mean, I was all ready to call him up; my thumb was right over the call button with his number dialed in, but I just couldn't for some reason. My heart started pounding, and my body was getting all sweating. I don't know why, but it just seemed rather… wrong to talk to him, at least, not with Yukinon around. I just feel like the topic I was about to talk about to Hikki should have Yukinon, but after everything we have gone though the past couple of weeks, I don't think none of us are ready to talk about it yet.

It can wait.

I can talk to Hikki and Yukinon some other time; once we are ready, I am sure that we will talk things out, and try to understand each other more. I know that even if we do talk, there is no guarantee we will understand, but we took up that request to find that Genuine thing, even if it is impossible.

On a side note, I do need to apologize to Hikki for I think I might be the reason why he is running late. He probably stayed up later than usual waiting for me to call. If that is the case, then I would feel bad if I got him punished for that. But knowing Hikki, I am sure that he will make it on time for he is just the type of person to always come around in the end. As I continue to look out the window, I lay eyes on a single student appearing behind the school gate. His uniform looks crazy and totally unprepared, but he seems to have the essentials. As he got closer, I can tell who it was for a small smile started to appear on my face.

* * *

 **Yukino's Point of View**

Hikigaya Hachiman, your punctuality never ceases to amaze me. The reason why I am contemplating this is due to the fact I am witnessing, from my classroom, Hikigaya-kun rushing himself towards the school for he just manages to arrive at the school gates. I can only assume from his late arrival complimented with the haste displayed and the haphazard wardrobe appearance that he must have overslept, resulting in his massive expenditure of energy to reach the school on time. The way he is scuttling about would certainly serve as evidence of this inference. Just observing Hikigaya-kun is starting to have negative effects on my health as a miniscule headache begins to formulate. His sheer laziness and punctuality is certainly manifesting into an issue that will needs to be address. I addressed this erroneous habit of his in the past, but it seems my endeavors have yet to show any improvement. No matter; I assume Hiratsuka-sensei is better equipped to handle this tautological issue with her usual methods regarding Hikigaya-kun. Though I condemn the use of violence as a substitute for discipline, I am willing to make an exception regarding Hikigaya-kun's situation for ingrates such as Hikigaya-kun are only able to learn though such barbaric discipline. I gaze shifts away from him seeing that one of two possibilities can result. My classmates begin to navigate themselves back to their assigned seats for there is only one minute until the day officially begins. I take the initiative to ascertain the necessary materials for the first class of the day, English, one of my stronger subjects in school. As I prepare, I unwittingly allow for a small smile to grimace my lips for I can only assume what lies in store for Hikigaya-kun if he is unfortunate enough to arrive in class late.

 _I hope your punishment will at least instill the importance of punctuality, Hikilazy-kun._

* * *

 _Elsewhere…_

 **? ? ? ? ? ? Point of View**

Running late I see, Hikigaya-kun? Your haphazard speed walking along with your uncanny wardrobe choice would certainly point in that direction _._ There aren't too many reasons why a self-proclaimed loner such as yourself would ever run late for school, so the best assumption I can logically make is that you overslept. It happens to the best of us, even somebody as _perfect_ as Yukinoshita. But I don't think any of our classmates would ever come to such a rudimentary conclusion in favor of one with more fanfare. I can already hear the hollow sneers and self-gratifying insults surreptitiously propagating around the school like wildfire. But it is not like you can't take an insult. You, of all people, know firsthand just how _elementary_ a high schooler's mind is and how easily it is to influence it with one simple action, so I can't really expect too much from my classmates seeing that their minds have already adopted a negative opinion of Hikigaya-kun as an apathetic, cynical, lethargic student that is loathed by everybody. Just being classified as your typical high school student ushers in a sense of ignominy to me. But first impression always matter in the real world, and seeing that you have a colorful reputation around here, I'd say you're first impression to people will always result in disgust. I still remember those terrifying rumors about how you viciously and mercilessly abused Sagami with nothing but your words to the point she broke down in tears, only to have the school prince Hayama-san come to her rescue. Whoever came up with that saying about sticks and stone and words is clearly an enthusiastic, ignorant prick. Words themselves are weapons, probably more lethal. Like weapons, they can be refined and improved upon until each syllable is filled with noxious venom aimed to target one specific area because physical pain in never the worst type of pain, despite its capacity to cause actual death. Now, nobody rarely talks about it, at least, not without a sentence starting out with, "Hey, remember that time when…."

So how is it that such a vile act of degrading a human being could be ignored?

I would say forgiveness…. Or the illusion of it.

It always fascinates me how people—selfish, egotistical, _curious_ —have the capacity to _forgive_ one another for their transgressions, despite how cruel and painful the act is. Forgiveness can give the illusion of change as the very act tends to be associated with selfless improvement. The ability to let go of the past and move forward once again could be considered a voluntary growth. Time heals all wounds is how the saying goes, but that is putting it way too simplistic and far too idealistic for _this_ world.

 _Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow._ It enthralls me just how the paradigm of forgiveness should work, yet hardly is ever executed with such vigilance and rigor. Looking at the situation through this scope, can it still be said that our classmates have forgiven Hikigaya-kun for his actions against Sagami-san.

No.

Though it may seem that forgiveness has been given, there hasn't been any forgiveness offered or accepted, or even talked about. It is something less reverent, less complicated, more _natural._ I can't blame my classmates or the Service Club for mixing forgiveness with something almost similar, but more humane. _Forgive and forget._ That is the saying uttered on a whim when somebody has been wronged but never fully executed. That is why I like this saying but with a minor tweak.

 _Forgive_ _ **or**_ _forget._ One way or another, one of these two options will be used with _time_ being the ultimate judge.

I like that.

How time always trudges along, acting like a double-edge sword to those unwilling to acquiesce its tautological nature, never batting an eye to the past. Ideally, we should mimic some of time's redeeming qualities, but there is always something standing in our way, and for Hikigaya-kun and for Yukinoshita-san, I have a strong impression it is their past that is strangling their current selves and their futures. Nobody can be that cynical or that blunt/detached, not if there is something that causes such behavior and that mindset. Then there is Yuigahama-san, the most well-adjusted person in the entire club—relatively speaking. The only club member without a troubled past, as far as I have observed. From what I have seen, she more of the adhesive of the club, playing the role of mediator to help balance and bring those two outcast back together. She is the resident _nice girl,_ and nice girls don't go down easy for their persistence can be quite irritating. Regardless, there is no denying the fact Yuigahama-san plays a bigger role in the club, more so than she or her club mates realize, and it would be unwise to disregard her from any actions involving the other two, something _she_ has already done _._ Regardless, All three—or possibly four—are all a _throne_ in my side, and judging from what I have witnessed from all three of them, with their inability to progress, I'd say they will eventually reach a critical point in their relationships, so important that it is terrifying because it is the most-naturalist of all things regarding relationships or even life itself, and like most people, they will do everything in their power to avoid such an eventuality.

So that only leave one question. Do I think like the rest of my classmates and consider Hikigaya-kun as a loser?

Well… I don't think it is that simple.

Don't get me wrong! I do think Hikigaya-kun is a loser, but I don't harbor the same, arbitrary reasons like my classmates. They're reason are… _misguided_ , but that if fine. I don't expect any of the them understand my reasons. I only expect Hikigaya-kun to understand since he is able to see the world from such a twisted perspective, giving him valuable insights and observations. As for his… friends, acquaintances, clubmates or whatever he calls them… not so much. They don't understand it as well as Hikigaya-kun. Evidence for this can be drawn from that critical moment in the bamboo forest incident. Whether it is voluntary denial of such truth or not, it is hard to say given only my observations, but eventually, those two will begin to understand in their own way. _I_ will make sure of that. It is all just a matter of… _time…._ Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. I love that saying.

Hikigaya-kun, Yukinoshita-san, and Yuigahama-san, though you all delude yourselves in believing that you are putting out all your efforts to fulfill the request, ultimately, it will be your lack of understanding and your ineptitude that _will_ be your cross. As for the _other throne…_ she could prove useful, but I would have to tread carefully, but with some vigilance and…. One problem at a time.

"Umm, excuse me? Could you help me with this problem?"

 _Tch._ Being bothered during my ponderings is certainly one way to irritate me. Nonetheless, I modestly turn my attention towards the student. She is timidly holding up a notebook in her hands, covering up the bottom portion of her face. I let a warm smile take its place to assure her that everything is alright.

"Yes, I am happy to help you." She lowers her notebook, allowing to see a smile of relief draw upon her face as she places the notebook on my desk. I look over the problem, my eyes analyzing the contents before I realize that it is tomorrow's homework. "Ah. The Fourier analysis homework. Tell me what you are having trouble with?"

* * *

 **Hachiman's Point of View**

The heavens grace me with their glory for I, Hikigaya Hachiman, having only little to no margin for error, manage to squeeze myself into the classroom on time with one second to spare. Talk about cutting it close is what the saying is. I can now relish in the fact Hiratsuka-sensei has no pressing reason to reprehend me for my non-existent tardiness. Upon my unconventional entry, I notice a small sulk overcome her. Perhaps she was yearning for me to be late so that she can execute her punishment, not so much for punishment reasons, but probably just to vent off some accumulated frustration for her single status. Sorry, Sensei, but I will not be your punching bag this day.

With my victory and stomach safety secured, I navigate myself towards my seat. I can feel all eyes gravitate towards me than usual. It is likely due to my over-exaggerated entry into the classroom. I mean, I contemplated dive-rolling into the classroom as a last resort, but luckily I didn't have to, but the way I entered certainly attracts more attention than usual. The way I slid open the door would indeed grab unnecessary attention. Plus there is my wardrobe situation, so there's that.

"I know that you are not late, Hikigaya-san, but next time, try to come earlier instead of putting on some show." Hiratsuka-sensei advises, her eyes shut with irritation surrounding her. With that, I take my seat and place my bag on the side of me, and during that action, I see Yuigahama waving at me in the corner of my eye. I respond by raising my right hand for a brief second before gravity takes hold of it, redirecting my attention towards the front of the class as Hiratsuka-sensei begins her lecture.

 _40 minutes later…_

So tired… I was right when I said today was going to suck because now, I am experiencing the after effects of my mid-night awakening. As Hiratsuka-sensei lectures us on her lesson, my eye lids grow exponentially heavier as each mundane, mind-numbing word exiting out is a lullaby to my half-awaken state. I possess many skills when it comes to being a loner, but no amount of skill will succor me during this pinch. I knew that I should have taken the small detour to acquire some Maxx coffee, but that would have resulted in my late arrival. So the opportunity cost of arriving on time is the relinquishing of my Maxx coffee. My strength begins to fail as I rest my head on my forearms. My eyes flicker back and forth until my eye sight descends into darkness. Maybe this is the insomnia speaking, but Hiratsuka-sensei's voice sounds melodious. My mind begins to shut down as the sentiment of having a well-rested body is too much for my own will. Sweet dre….

 _Pow!_

My head jumps out of the comfort of my forearms, almost jumping out of my seat. Frantic, I observe my surroundings, only to see faces of my classmates, or parts of their faces as some cover their mouths, resisting the urge to laugh, but can hear their muffle laughs. I look towards the back and see Yuigahama also fighting the temptation to laugh as her face is apple red.

"Hikigaya-san, I suggest you pay more attention to the lecture." Her voice stern and demanding. I look towards the front and see Hiratsuka-sensei's back turn towards me. She shifts her head, allowing me to see only one eye, burning with discipline and anticipation. "Try to stay awake, okay?" she narrows her glare at me. I nodded my head as I gulp an accumulated amount of saliva, the tension reaching it breaking point when the class breaks out in a fury of laughter. My misfortune is their pleasure to sum it all up. I believe the Germans have a very specific word for this phenomenon called schaden freude, which roughly translates to harm or shame joy.

 _Lunchtime…_

Lunching, my saving grace from the already horrible day, but I am in the homestretch now, and it is lunch time. Once that bell rung, I jettison myself out of the room, going to the nearest vending machine to buy some precious Maxx coffee. After that, I bought some lunch from the cafeteria, a sandwich and a rice ball, but instead of my usual spot at the stairs with the nice cross breeze, I decide instead to change the scenery for it would be more advantages of me to eat my lunch on the roof. I figure I could use the change of venue to help better comprehend some recently-occurred issues. Navigating myself through the school, I approach a very familiar empty hallway. The sunlight lights up the hallway, creating a nice atmosphere for a school day. Hard to believe that a simple change of lighting could drastically alter the atmosphere from warm and pleasant to distraught and nightmarish. I take one step down, and immediately an image of a tear-ridden Yuigahama appears before my eyes, flinching as I take one reflex-step back, before the image instantly vanishing just as fast as it came. I rub my eyes, hoping to rid myself of my sleepiness, but that didn't work. I still feel like crap. Regardless, I hesitantly proceed through the hallway. After traversing it, I ascend the stairs, a sense of dread and stronger hesitation gripping my legs. What I had was a dream, and yet, it is affecting me more than I ought to let it. Three quarters of the way there, just as I let down my guard, the door flings open, producing a person dashing right out as she heads towards a collision course into me. Luckily, even in my sleepy state, my reflexives don't fail me for I dodge out the way, gripping the handles, compressing myself to the wall so there is minimal contact between me and the person.

"Sorry about that!" This person yells, the voice pitch high, indicating that it is a girl. She doesn't even look back to see if I am okay; she keeps her posture forwards as she descends the stairs. Sorry is right. I almost fell down the stairs, and you don't even check to see if I am okay. I didn't get a good look at her, so it is probably I don't know, which means that I probably won't see her again.

I stand in front of the door, deciding whether I actually want to open the door. Going down the hallway produced a terrifying flash, so I am weary whether my mind will play more tricks on my if I decide to open the door. I could envision Yukinoshita, or Yukinoshita Haruno, or something worse. Regardless, I push open the door, receiving a view of the blue sky and a radiant sun. Thank goodness.

Going over to the left-most corner, I grab my lunch and begin eating it. It's strange. The moment I take a bite into my lunch, the tiredness leaves my body. Even though I can't blame 100 percent of my drowsiness to _her,_ she still has a some of the blame. Yukinoshita Haruno… Just thinking about her sends silent shills creeping up my spine, like at any moment, she will appear from out of nowhere to say hello or more likely "yahallo." I look around, and the close is clear. You can never be too suspicious of your surroundings; that is something I learned due to my years of being a loner.

Yukinoshita Haruno… what is it that you want from me? I already established she doesn't waste time with those who are unworthy to her, yet she finds me interesting enough to dip her prestigious fingers into my affairs, even though I do not categorize into her preferences. A perfect and popular person like Hayama would never satisfy her in the slightest. Who would of thought that being perfect isn't correlated to being worthy, which I can't stop admiring the irony in this statement because people who don't know Yukinoshita Haruno well would consider her a perfect person; She is charismatic, hard-working, self-sufficient, and perceptive… did I also mention that she is manipulative? That one characteristic that most people don't pick up on since they glide over her thinking that what they saw is the whole deal?

 _There is more than meets the eye._ A saying associated well with one famous robot and would perfectly describe the situation regarding Yukinoshita Haruno.

So that leaves Yukinoshita Yukino, the younger of the two sisters. Teachers and students would marvel at the fact Yukinoshita is elegant, intelligent, prestigious, and wholesome; never seeing a fault from somebody coming from such a prestigious family, not to mention that her bar is set high if those same people were to have met the elder. But behind all that glamor and gratifying descriptions lies a person with issues; issues that nobody would have expected coming from her. Yukinoshita had made it her mission—or vendetta—to surpass her sister, yet never being able to admit that she needed help. She seemed too prideful when I first met her, so prideful that it disgusted me as I branded her as the twisted nobility, seeing that had some misplaced responsibility to help those seek assistance, but my perceptions of her changed since our first encounter, and were redefined once again when she asked for my help on that ride in Destiny Land.

Haruno Yukinoshita is literally a better version of Yukinoshita. The only difference is the elder doesn't seem to have any problems, as least, not that I can see. Yukinoshita Haruno loathes the idea of her sister trying to best her with the tactics she has employed; the main one being mimicry, and being the social tyrant Yukinoshita Haruno is, she used this mimicry to her advantage. They say that mimicry is the best form of flattery, but between the two Yukinoshita's, I fail to see any flatter being given by the younger to the elder. Whatever quarrel they two seem to have, the thing I know is I manage to stumble myself right in the middle. Yukinoshita relies on me, even though she condemns my methods and thought process. Yukinoshita Haruno finds me interesting, and does whatever she wants just to incite some reaction through my disregards of her, also infuriating the younger in the process. The thing both have in common besides bloodline is they see something in me; something that only I can give them both, but what exactly can I offer? I doubt they are seeking for my loner wisdoms, though Yukinoshita Haruno finds my wisdom and actions as _adorable._ I stare into my sandwich, completely stump as to what I am supposed to make of this. I take one bite, replenishing my energy with that bite.

…

My sandwich has potential energy to help power my bodily functions such as movement. More along with that analogy, Yukinoshita Haruno and Yukinoshita Yukino both see some potential in me. The same way how you raise an object to increase its potential or the same way how a battery holds a potential. And the thing about potential is…

Potential is worthy.

Hiratsuka-sensei revealed that I alone can produce results, while the other two can contribute to my endeavors. It was always me solving the problems, and it was always me that took the blunt end of the stick as I endured whatever pain was accompanied to the problem. It is the very act of enduring that Yukinoshita Haruno likes about me; how I am able to get back on my feet after such crushing endeavors, much to her satisfaction. It is this same aspect that comes to Yukinoshita's disapproval. Yukinoshita Haruno as the sun, Yukinoshita as the moon, and me as the Earth, in-between the two celestial bodies, complete opposites, yet related to each other through one other body; the Earth.

In the end, both Yukinoshita's see and want something from me. While I have some idea as to what Yukinoshita wants to derive out of me, I cannot say the same for the elder.

I take another bite out of my sandwich.

"Delicious."

 **Yukino's Point of View**

 _After school…_

The final class concludes without any problems. With having little reason to remain in the room, I arise from my seat and journey towards the teacher's lounge. Once procuring the keys, I walk myself towards the old building to the club room. I insert the key into the keyhole and slide the door open. I stand out of my seat and proceed to the door, making my way to the teacher's lounge, where I secure the keys to the clubroom. Walking down the hallway, and entering the old building, I stand in front of the clubroom. I insert the keys and allow myself inside. Setting my bag in my self-designated seat, I obtain the tea pot, and go to fill it up with water, once back in the club room, I set it to boil. With nothing else requiring my immediate attention, I seat myself and secure the current book I am reading from my bag. Considering my clubmates arrival tendencies, I should have 10 minutes to read quietly before they arrive. It is not like I don't enjoy their company, but I don't read as much when they are here. Disregarding Hikigaya-kun since he reads as well, it is more to do with Yuigahama-san as she strikes up idle conversation with me, describing in detail what her clique has done for today. Though I have little interest in their affairs, I do see that such idle conversation with Yuigahama-san is part of the relationship I share with her. My assumption is if it is important to her, then it is important to me, even if there is little logic behind the reasons. The sound of the teapot screeching indicates the tea is ready. I move to pour myself a cup and return to my seat, continuing from where I left off from. A few minutes transpire, the door jiggles a miniscule amount before it completely opens, revealing the last two club members.

"Yahallo, Yukinon." Yuigahama-san greets me in a felicitous state.

"Yo…" Hikigaya-kun mumbles, moving himself towards his usual seat, from across the table

"Good evening, Yuigahama-san, Hikigaya-kun." I return, placing my book down on the table as I go to prepare tea for the two of them. After pouring two cups of tea and placing the cups to each respective order. I return to my seat, and Yuigahama-san takes her seat next to me, once again invading my personal space. She looks on to me with an unsuppressed, warm smile. It is true that it makes me uncomfortable at times, but I am learning to adapt to Yuigahama's uncharacteristically embracive attitude. But I still endeavoring to adapt to it.

"Yuigahama-san, you're a bit too close to me." I voice my concerns, seeing her smile dampen a bit as she moves her seat slightly away from me.

"Oh, sorry, Yukinon." All the while Hikigaya looks on as usual, though I do see the bags under his eyes.

"Ne, Yukinon, did you know that Hikki was almost late." Yuigahama shares.

"Really?" I play along, feigning ignorance. "Frankly, I am not too surprised seeing that this is Hikigaya-kun we are talking about. I assume that your almost tardiness can be attributed to your half-sleep state." I deduce. Hikigaya looks at me with his even-more dead-fish eyes, and simply looks away, a bit strained, more so than usual.

"I just… didn't get enough sleep today." He answered, not making any eye contact with me, like he is not telling the whol truth. I continue to monitor him to see if he would tack on something more, but his refusal to look towards me and Yuigahama is answer enough. I let out my breath.

"I see."

"But that is not all." Yuigahama continues. "Sensei also hit him on the head for sleeping in class. Hikki didn't know what was going on, and sensei had like a distinct calm-scary look in her eye."

"Hikigaya-kun, I assume you know that it is disrespectful to sleep during a lecture." I reprimand him.

"Yes, I am aware of it, but like I said, I couldn't help it. In my half-awaken state, sensei's lecture was more boring than usual, so boring that I hardly could stay up."

"Hikigaya, are you asking for me to punish you." A familiar voice intrudes. Looking over at the door, I see sensei with one hand clenched into a fist while the other is in her pocket.

"Sensei, how many time do I have to remind you to knock before you enter?" I remind her once more, a slight headache making an appearance once more seeing that I have told sensei about the club's policy

"Sorry, I will try to remember that next time." I don't believe her seeing that she stated those exact words in her previous visit. I once again exhale my withheld breath.

"…Fine, what brings you here to the clubroom?" A distinct smile then forms on sensei's lips upon my questioning.

"I came because you have a request."

* * *

 **Another chapter completed. I found it a harder than usual, but like I said in the first chapter, this kind of writing is difficult for me. Make sure you leave your highly-sought reviews and will see you next time.**


	4. Ch 4 Meteor

**Chapter 4 Meteor**

" _Altruism isn't inherently human, but selfishness is."_

 **Yukino's Point of View**

"I came because you have a request." Hiratsuka-sensei announces with a hearty smile; possibly due to the fact the Service Club has not received any request in the past few days. The only student that ventures to the club room on a frequent basis is Isshiki-san to pester Hikigaya-kun or establish a dialogue with Yuigahama-san regarding certain gossip. I reframe myself from indulging in such actives because I have no need to educate myself regarding certain trends, fashion styles, or "juicy" rumors. I do remind those two they shouldn't participate in such activities within the clubroom, but I have gained little to no success. It is more beneficial if I ignore it. At least Hikigaya-kun has that virtue to reframe from participating in gossip; his disgust for such gossip is one admirable quality, but it is constantly overlooked due to the plethora of vices has also harbors. This speculation, however, does not take into account others never having any intentions on informing Hikigaya-kun in such rumors due to his rotten personality or never having people close enough to educate him. Disregarding Hikigaya-kun's situation, which I find is beyond salvageable, Isshiki-san needs to comprehend the responsibilities she has as the student council president and should limit her visitation to our club to cater to student body president responsibilities.

"A request! How great is that, Yukinon! We haven't had one in like, forever." Yuigahama-san speaks out overzealously, turning towards me with an open smile and beaming eyes as she relocates both her hands onto my left shoulder, lightly shaking me to help elevate her and my enthusiasm.

"Yes, Yuigahama-san, that is good news to hear." I corroborate. She maintains eye contact for an extra second before she redirects her attention towards Hikigaya-kun, hoping to secure verbal or visual approval for her fervid state. Hikigaya-kun, reading the situation, readjust himself in his seat, taking his time before answering.

"Cool..." He utters on a whim lethargically, not even bothering to face Yuigahama-san straight on but instead giving a quick glance over her before returning his attention forward. I wish I could say I was moderately surprised by his cold dismissal of her, but I have come to expect that kind of response from someone the likes of Hikigaya-kun.

"Mou, Hikki! What kind of response is that?!" She pesters him in a slightly-higher pitch than normal. "This is our first request in a while. That's, like, something worth celebrating, so the least you could do is show a bit more excitement." Yuigahama-san suggest as she looks onto him with harmless irritation mixed in with a light, friendly glare as she crosses her arms and pouts puerilely.

"Yuigahama-san," I decide to voice in my opinions in this minuscule disagreement. "Do not bother Hikigaya-kun with such trifling matters." That sort of suggesting awards me with a displeased Yuigahama-san and a bit surprised Hikigaya-kun, but I would ask both of them to let me finish speaking. "You should know that a lethargic insect such as Hikigaya-kun is incapable of putting forth a minimum effort to motivate himself, so you shouldn't expect much from a lazy person like him." I comment, looking dead on at Hikigaya-kun with a silent grin. His tardiness for school and his lethargic behavior coupled with his dead-fish eyes is justification enough for me to state such an opinion. I would go as far as claiming that my opinion could pass as fact.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are insulting me?" He reasons.

"Was that not obvious? It would seem your hearing is suffering as well. Perhaps the cause for such hearing problems may be your dead fish-eyes? I would advise you to contact your family doctor for such an issue, Hikigaya-kun"

"Again with the fish-eyes." He exasperates. "In any case…" He decides to move on. "The purpose of the Service Club is to assist people with whatever request they bring to us, so I hardly see the reason to excite myself every time someone brings a request. You know, something that the club is _supposed_ to receive. The way I see it, my energy would be better spent in other useful and more-purposeful task, Yuigahama." He attempts to vindicate himself with logic, as expected from the monster of logic.

"Given the allotted time we have been in acquaintance, I assume those 'other useful activities' would revolve around you laying around and falling asleep. Or maybe going home to execute such activities. Am I within reason to make such an inference?" I counter his iron-clad logic as Hikigaya-kun freezes and looks forward to avoid my eye contact, clear indication of my correctly-guessed inference. During our little excursion, it moved on me Hiratsuka-sensei is still in the room, listen and observing with a broad smile.

"Wow, Yukinoshita. I didn't know you knew so much about him." Hiratsuka-sensei comments off-handily.

A silence follows. I can feel my heart beating faster and harder as my entire body produces more heat, forcing me to look away from his direction flustered and cheeks reddening into a pink-red hue. The only reason I know that about him is because I have spent enough time with him to know that—not that I spend any _alone_ time with him. It's more because we're club mates, and individuals do learn about others if they spend enough time together like in a club together. I indiscreetly twist my head around to ascertain a better view of Yuigahama-san to see her reaction. Yuigahama-san's cheeks are flustered with red as she timidly stares down towards the ground, habitually rubbing her knees together and twiddling her thumbs to ease her sudden discomfort. Her mouth wordlessly opens a few times in attempt to break this new-found awkwardness, but to no avail. Moving my gaze along, Hikigaya-kun is also look away from my general direction, looking at the wall at the front of the classroom, cheeks also colored pinkish-red, seeing—what I believe—a lone sweat drop racing down the side of his face. I look over to Hiratsuka-sensei, and all she is doing is smiling. We remain like this for a few seconds before someone finally decides to break the silence

"You said we had a request. Are you going to share the details with us?" Hikigaya-kun speaks up, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Hmpf, how rude. I'll have to punish you for your brazen question." Sensei warns, cracking her knuckles, glaring at Hikigaya-kun who lets down a swallow. "But I think I can let this slide for now." His entire demeanor relaxes, along with his hand gripped around his stomach. Hiratsuka-sensei proceeds to turn to open the clubroom door wider and peers out for what I can only assume is the requester "You can come in now. I promise they're all friendly. Well… at least one third of them." She corrects herself, bringing her head back inside and looking directly at Yuigahama-san, implying she is the only member who is approachable due to her bubbly personality. I am aware she is only teasing Hikigaya-kun and I—even if her jocular claim is valid. Nevertheless, I disregard her comment, and I would advise Hikigaya-kun to follow my example, which he does.

"Are you sure it's okay?" a feminine, demure voice whisper through the air, so soft that if the sound levels were any lower, then I would not have been capable of hearing the voice.

This does, however, confirm my suspicions. Judging by the fact the requester failed to enter the clubroom with Hiratsuka-sensei and asking for assurance to proceed can lead to conclude she is either intimidated by us or demure in nature. I look over to Hikigaya-kun and judging from his expression and his tentative posture, it is most likely we came to the same conclusion. The Service Club has dealt with a variety of distinct requester in regards to personalities. Ranging from the energetic and conversational Isshiki-san to the more relaxed and collect Hayama-san, but I have yet to handle a requester is more on the demure side in terms of personality. Yuigahama-san may have fit this description at the beginning, but not the level this potential requester, and she is no longer intimidated by our presence.

Moments transpire, only for a lone hand to curl around the door frame cautiously, testing the waters in a sense.

"It's okay." Hiratsuka-sensei reassures. "I promise they are all nice in their own… _special_ way. You don't have to be afraid of them. Maybe Hikigaya, but the other two will keep him in check."

"Oi, why are you making me the bad guy here? What have I done to deserve such a treatment." Hikigaya-kun livens up a bit.

"Hikigaya, I did tell you I would punish you later. This is later, or would you perhaps want us to go to my office so we can _punch_ this out?" he grips his stomach and submits, looking away from her. He knows what kind of punishment waits for him, and I do too given how I learned how Hiratsuka-sensei specifically punishes him. "Good." She looks out the door. "I was only kidding. He may look scary with his rotten eyes, messy hair, and lethargic facial expression but he's harmless, so why don't you come inside already and introduce yourself."

It is only after a few more seconds pass the requester begins to reveal herself to us. She slowly moves herself through the door, hesitation gripping her like it pains her to enter. Slowly but surely her entirety of her body enters the clubroom. As one might expect, the school uniform she's wearing does indicate she is a student of this school with no alteration whatsoever; blazer buttoned, ribbon tied, and no visual features on her school bag. Just by how she shyly entered the classroom would indicate she is not the type of person to draw too much attention to herself. Even her posture indicates she is uncomfortable at this moment seeing that she is slightly hunched over in trepidation and keeps her hand close to her chest readying for any sort of unforeseeable surprise to spring out. Her ankles are bend inward and lowered, fidgeting as her leg muscles are unfamiliar with her readied stance. As stated, she doesn't seem to stand out in terms of clothes: ankle-high black socks and unaltered uniform. However, her facial and cranial features would indicate otherwise. Long, straight, shiny brown hair—no longer than mine but longer than Yuigahama-san's—reflect the sunlight right off each strand as a minuscule and artificial building breeze carries her hair. Her fair, pale-white skin indicates she doesn't spend too much time in the sun, which could suggest she is more of an indoors type of person, possibly a bookworm. Her crimson-colored eyes also glittered in the sunlight, only succoring in creating the beautiful image she has created. Her beautiful facial features complimented with her demure demeanor will only contribute and boil down to one word I would assume most males would use to accurately describe her as 'cute.'

We accidently make eye-contact—I believe this because right as we acknowledge each other, she quickly darts her eyes towards the front wall, cheeks flushed with red and embarrassment. I can at least comprehend why Hiratsuka-sensei took the time to escort our requester to us and endeavor to lighten the mood with her innocent, Hikigaya-deprecating jokes.

"Welcome to the Service Club. I am it's president, Yukinoshita Yukino, and the student to the right of me is…"

"I'm Yuigahama Yui. Nice to meet you" She interrupts smilingly, an action I come to expect given her bubbly attitude and, most likely, the best person to converse with, making Yuigahama-san a valuable member of the Service Club for situation like this.

"And the slacker over on the other side of the table is another member to the service club." We both make I contact, receiving the message I am conveying.

"Hikigaya Hachiman." A beat of silence passes before our requester opens herself up, still flustered as indicated by her redden cheeks and refusal to look any of us in the eye and keeping a close distance to Hiratsuka-sensei.

I'm…. Taira Hikari…."

 **Hachiman's Point of View**

Taira Hikari…

A shy girl.

The type of girl who would flinch, panic, or faint if anyone such as myself—a creepy guy with a abhorrent attitude and questionable eyes—dares to lay a single eye on her or even look her general direction; the complete opposite of someone like Isshiki-san: outgoing, gun how, gregarious. No doubly Taira would mistake anyone's viewing in her general direction as a sign of them looking at her and would scramble helplessly in hopes to avoid attracting any more attention. But in doing that, her actions are drawing the crowds attentions, so her actions are not just futile, but counter-productive, yet never realizing that her actions are attracting attention to herself whether she knows it or not. I mean, look at her. The way she defensively postures herself, how she blushes at the slightest inconvenience, and her crimson-colored eyes is enough to warrant a single comment for any person—guys specifically—who looks at her.

Cute.

However, I doubt this could be the problem she is coming to us for. It would take a lot for people like her to break out of her shell to seek assistance from anybody else. I am betting my money that it has to do something with her looks. I will admit, she is cute and beautiful, and those two features alone can warrant for their own set of problems that tend to curse those who have such beauty. Evidence of this: Yukinoshita Yukino and Isshiki Iroha.

There is no denying that the Ice Queen herself _is_ beautiful—this isn't my opinion, but many others would agree with this statement, so I am simply stating the facts. Back to what I was saying, beauty or cuteness does come with its fair share of problems very, very specific. The question is whether Taira here is also experiencing this common issue amongst people like her, Yukinoshita, and Isshiki.

"Anyways, I have to get a move on. I got some paper that need some attention. So I'll leave you guys to it."

"Sensei, you are not staying to learn Taira-san's request?" Yukinoshita inquires.

"No. I already talked with her, but she refuses to tell me other than she needs help, which only tells me that this problem is something better discussed with people _her_ age." She answers, thought I pick up on the traces of distain in her voice, probably reinforcing the idea she isn't as young as she used to be and has yet to find a romantic partner to be with. I would say something, but I already know what is going to happen, and I'd like to save myself from that pain. "However, I'm pretty sure I have a good idea what the nature of her problem is, so there isn't much I can do other than make it worse. So I will leave it to you guys, but please remember one thing." Her voice loses all sorts of friendliness and becomes deep and solemn. "Don't try to push yourselves." Is all she advises, particularly looking at me with sternness, seriousness, and concern. I glance over to my right, and notice Yuigahama and Yukinoshita tracing where Hiratsuka-sensei was staring and found it back to me, both of them also adopting a half-serious look.

"We won't." I answer in my usual tone. She brightens up with smile, though it still looks solemn. I guess she does worry about me seeing she is aware of how I tend to handle problems presented to us. However, I don't intend to shoulder this all on my own. I have already seen what the consequences are, and don't really want to go down that path, not after telling those two what I desire most.

For just an instant, the clear image of Yukinoshita and Yuigahama collapsed on the floor under the blood-red moon appears.

What the hell I'm I thinking about that now? Why did that just appear now? Is it because of Sensei's reminder to not push myself, or it is something else I am not aware of? Regardless, this isn't the time to contemplate on such matters seeing the Service Club has a requester, and that should take priority.

Once Hiratsuka-sensei leaves, all of us turn our attention towards Taira, who is still standing in a defensive position up near the front of the room, still concerned and worried about where she is, which—for some unknown reason beyond me—isn't unprecedented.

"Why don't you pull up a chair and sit so we can discuss your request." Yukinoshita offers, her hand open and bent downward at a 45-degree angle. I know how you are Yukinoshita, but you can an least put on a smile for her seeing she isn't too comfortable. I would, but something tells me my current expression is much better than me smiling for no reason for surely I would be rewarded with a 'creepy' from Yukinoshita. Taira weakly nods and pulls up a chair near the windows, however, with her somewhat cautious/frightened state, her legs accidently catch around the chair's legs, causing her to trip up. Luckily with one good foot placement, she catches herself before plunging face first into the floor, but as a result positions herself in an awkward stance where her legs are spread wide apart and her hands are in the air. As a matter of fact, the length of her spread-out legs are dangerously wide as the integrity of her skirt's length begins to compromise. I divert my eyes upward in hopes nobody catches me looking in her general direction. I look back only to see her posture returns into a defensive one, her cheeks flushed with red and eyes drenched in worry. I think I am in the clear; I don't need to have Yukinoshita confirm I am some sort of pervert. Regardless of the whole ordeal, clumsiness can also be another attribute to Taira, which doesn't work out well for her seeing it only compliments her cuteness even more. Oh how I wish Totsuka was clumsy like her. I don't think I could take it if he accidently trips for I am sure my heart will skip a beat. Returning back to reality, with a crimson-red face—almost similar to her color of her irises—Taira slides the chair in front of the table, seating herself in-between Yukinoshita and Yuigahama.

Her mouth wordlessly opens, but hesitation grips her tightly as nothing dares to venture beyond her tongue. Its been a minute, and let me tell you, her cheeks are still that flushed with red—probably even more—from her apparent discomfort. Her shoulder lightly shake, her knees touching, and refusing to make eye contact—especially with Yukinoshita. Small, kiddy gaps of air is all she can squeeze out as numerous false starts go off. This isn't getting us anywhere, I am can sure as hell that is what the other two are thinking. Glancing over to Yukinoshita, I catch her pitching her upper nose, signifying she is becoming irritated by Taira's lack of initiative. I don't call her the Ice Queen for nothing. The first time we met, she spent no time grilling into me—a person she just met I might add. However, I stood my ground and combated her to some extent and hold my ground, but Taira… well I feel bad for her if this is the route we are going to take. I have to act and fast or else Yukinoshita might say something. It took guts for her to come to us, but she needs more guts if we are to progress any further. Time for me to step in.

"You…"

"Hey, don't worry." A voice not my own interrupts. Looking for the source, I find the voice belongs to Yuigahama. "Just take your time. You don't have to push yourself. We are here to help you; that why the Service club exist. Just take your time and when you feel comfortable, you can talk to us." She reassures her, giving her one of her soft smiles. It looks like I wasn't the only one thinking about this situation. Yuigahama has always had an act for reading the situation and acting accordingly, know just how to ease everybody. It wasn't what I was going to do, but this works out just fine, seeing that a faint, if not almost unnoticeable, smile barely curls on the side of Taira's lips.

"T-thank you for being patient with me. I know I can be a bother to people at times with how I am." She almost-inaudibly whispers

"It is not problem at all, right guys?"

"Oh… yes. I understand your situation is difficult so please do not hasten yourself for our account." Yukinoshita adds.

"I don't have a problem with it." I mumble.

"See. Everything is fine. You don't have to push yourself so much. When I first came here, I was, like, super uneasy about asking The Service Club for help. Hikki was looking like he always is now: totally serious, and Yukinon was super serious as well. I know they can look scary, but both of they are… sweet in their own ways." I am not going to argue with her there; my entire school life from Junior high and up people have always been calling me creepy and disgusting, but I never let it bother me. As a loner, there insults mean nothing to me. In a twisted way, there insults only makes me more resilient to compared to the average high school student who tend not to take insults or criticism well. Regardless, I understand what Yuigahama is endeavoring to reach, and I start to see her results as Taira slowly unwinds herself, shoulders relaxing and knees straightening out. Her flushed cheeks slowly begin to return to their normal state. What surprises me the most here is a weak, dim smile begins to form on her face. Her mouth opens, wordlessly mimicking speech as she mouths a certain set of words. Now I don't know about Yuigahama or Yukinoshita, and even with my acquired loner skills, reading somebody's lips is not one of them. I will admit that even a loner like myself, who spends enough time watching people so I can be 70 percent part of the conversation, reading lips would makes acquisition of information a lot better. But sadly, it is not going to happen and thus remains a distant dream.

"Okay…" she quietly states. "You see…"

"SENNNNPAAAIIII!" And with that heroic war cry of a greeting, Taira immediately retreats into herself, resuming the previous position she held; head crouched down to her shoulders, knees huddles together, and arms hugging her own body as she slouches over. Of all the times Isshiki could have barged into the clubroom, why did it have to be now? But can I expect from the sly fox of a student council president.

"Eh, did I do something wrong?" she asks herself when she finally assesses the situation: a unknown girl to her cowering in her seat, Yuigahama giving a sympathetic smile as she scratches her head, and Yukinoshita massaging her temples, and me just staring at her with my trademark apathetic expression.

"Isshiki-san." Yukinoshita begins masking her irritation but still allowing for minuscule amounts to invigorate her words. "We are in the middle of listening to a request. It would have been polite if you were to knock instead of barging in here. It already took a lot of courage for Taira-san to seek our assistance, and your sudden entrances doesn't help the already-sensitive situation."

"Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't know you guys were in the middle of a request." This was bound to happen sooner or later, so I am not too surprised by the current predicament.

"I hope in the near future, you will be considerate to us and knock first before entering." Yukinoshita warns, shooting a half glare at Isshiki.

"I will…. I'm sorry."

"Seeing Taira-san is in no state to voice her concerns to us, and with your attendance here, what can we do for you?"

"Oh…" She's sweating bullets, which can mean one thing. "I was… he, he, he…" You might be able to get away with situation involving men with your cuteness, but good luck trying to squeeze out any sympathy from the Ice Queen herself, especially since she is allotting you a scathingly specific half-glare as to not be entirely annoyed. "I was just… uh…. bored… and I… wanted to… see you guys…he, he, he" she stutters.

"Honestly, Isshiki-san." Yukinoshita rubs her temples again, head down and eyes closed.

"Ummm, you know, maybe Iroha-san can stick around and help us. I mean, she is the student council president, so maybe if Taira-san's request is reasonable, she might be able to help us."

"Yuigahama-san, I don't think…"

"It's… fine…" Taira speaks up, drawing everyone's attention to her as she slowly unwinds once more, cheeks more flushed than a cherry. "I promised myself I would try to get help from whoever will give it, so…." She didn't finish her sentence, but enough was said that the general idea was pushed through.

"If you feel that way, then I have no objections." Yukinoshita responds.

"I have no problems either." I add on.

"Great. Iroha-san, what do you say?" Yuigahama openly invites with that open-ended question

"I'll do it. I mean, it is the least I can do when you guys are always helping me." And with that, Isshiki will also be lending her help with this request, which we have not learned about yet, but I still have my suspicions about the exact nature of the request.

"Now, what can the Service Club do for you?" Her expression grows solemn as her eyes slowly gravitate towards the table, not wanting to look at Yuigahama or Yukinoshita in the eye, nor Isshiki after she pulls up a chair and sits in-between Taira and myself.

"Well… you see… there are… these… girls…." The face begins to contort is such a negative way that it looks as if she wants to vomit. The melancholy-induced expression is quickly replaced with one of agony as her eyes darts away from my clubmates faces, her right-hand gripping onto her bicep tightly, greatly worrying Yuigahama and Isshiki, but Yukinoshita remains indifferent. Hesitation does indeed have a strong grip on her, but she pushes forward anyway, forcing herself to share her troubles. "There are… these girls who… who…." She doesn't have to finish; I already know what she is going to say. The way she talks, the way she is acting, and the pained expression on her is clear enough that I am sure even a blind man could see what is going on. The others are in suspense, but Yukinoshita… well. The way she remains indifferent to Taira is quite odd if I say so myself, but it is enough for me to know Yukinoshita knows what Taira is going to say, and judging from earlier, Hiratsuka-sensei seemed to know it too, which explains why she referred Taira to us in the first place. "…P-p-pick on me." And there you have it. If I didn't already know what the situation was, I would have more or less been a bit surprised. It would seem Taira here has acquired a problem that I, Yukinoshita, and Isshiki all share. This type of problem plagued me since junior high, Yukinoshita as early as elementary school, more recently Isshiki with the whole nominating her as a joke candidate for the student body president.

"You're saying you have a bully or bullies." Yukinoshita concludes her thoughts, a stern expression overcoming her, quickly replacing any annoyance accumulated by Isshiki-san. I will say she beat me to the punchline.

 **Yukino's Point of View.**

Bullying… Such an evil that is not foreign to myself or Hikigaya-kun. I harbor no doubt our current selves were shaped by our experiences with bullying, yet we were shaped very differently and have our own methods to combat such evils. For myself, I avoided such evils like lying and slander that plagued me in the past while Hikigaya-kun, from what I can gather, has or had no issues with such evils seeing that he himself has experienced more cruelly that bullying to him has become something standard for a person such as himself.

Harassment, extortion, ridicule, all have different meanings, but all fall under the same umbrella. For myself, the roots for my ridicule has more to do with envy than anything else. I was aware that I was considered beautiful as a child, which already acquired me enemies, but coupled with the fact I had, at hindsight, a close relationship with Hayama-san—knowing full well he was popular with the girls—it also counted against me. Eventually, the girls within my class banded together to ensure my life became unpleasant with hiding my shoes, talking behind my back, and accusing me for things I had no hand in. I have no doubts these experiences have shaped who I am today… and that is something that I have to reexamine for myself. Hikigaya-kun experience with such a topic is different for his classmates made him out to be some undesirable, no doubt morphing him into the twisted person he is today, which ultimately brought him to the Service club by Hiratsuka-sensei.

"You're being bullied? That's so cruel!" Yuigahama exasperates, quite loudly I might add.

"Yuigahama-san, I would appreciate it if you used discretion. I don't believe Taira-san likes it when you screech her problems out in the open like that."

"Oh… sorry, it just I was surprised is all."

"Well I can believe it, and I am not too surprised by such a development?" This voice belongs to none other than Hikigaya-kun, who skepticism does not go unnoticed by everybody, his tone and words accurately portraying his amusement to her problem. "This is high school, essentially a breeding ground for social cliques and adversity for people our age, and no doubt bullying has always been a problem in the schools. The capable always exerting their power over the lesser. This isn't something new for it occurs more than you think, Yuigahama-san."

"I know there is always bullying around."

"Then you shouldn't act too surprised just because you haven't seen it as much. Taira, what exactly do these girls do to you? And how many are we talking about?" he inquires, though to me, it almost sounds as if he is demanding for his tone has a bit more assertiveness to it. Odd.

"Well… there's three of them. They… sometimes take my lunch money and… make me buy them food. Sometimes…. if they aren't pleased… then… they… push me around… and shove me onto the floor." Tears are already welling up in the corner of her eyes, to which Yuigahama quickly runs to the aid of Taira, placing her arm around her in an effort to comfort her as she wipes away her accumulating tears.

"Have you tried telling the teachers?" Isshiki suggest.

"She wouldn't come here if she did." Hikigaya-kun speaks out again in his normal brazen self. "I am not the most popular guy around, but even I know you don't go to the teachers to fix these kinds of problems like Taira's for the social consequences for such an action can outweigh the desired results."

"Oh." Isshiki utters.

"I am afraid I have to agree with Hikigaya-kun. If Taira-san wanted to go to the staff, she would have done so and wouldn't come to the Service Club. Am I right to assume such an assumption?" Taira-san weakly nods.

"So we are going to help Taira-san with her request?" The Service Club was established to give the students of this school the tools needed to help themselves, and given our past request, we have only been solving their problems instead of helping them help themselves, and because of such actions, Yuigahama-san and myself ended up placing our hopes onto Hikigaya-kun, something we should not have done in the first place given how he solves problems, or from his confession, never solving the true problem so much as placing a band-aid over it and hope it works out.

"Taira-san, I don't think this is something the Service Club can help you with."

 **Hachiman's Point of View**

 _In front of the school's entrance, 45 minutes after the meeting with Hikari…_

"Yuigahama-san, is there something wrong." Of course there is something wrong. The way she has been looking on the ground since we left the school is evident enough that our decision to decline Taira's request is still very present in her minds, and our minds as well.

"What… oh… it nothing. I guess I am still a little bummed out about how we handled Taira-san back in the club room. Just looking how divested she was and the way she ran out of the club room almost makes me want to cry." Well, you'd be the first, but remember she is the nice girl, and nice girls just don't know when to give up, and that only brings me to pain because I know Yuigahama wants to help in any way possible, but there is no helping her unless something is disregarded for a request like Taira's.

"Believe me, Yuigahama-san. There isn't much we can to with Taira-san's situation."

"But why?"

That there is the million-dollar question. Why can't we help her? Yuigahama, being the nice girl she is, probably has never dealt with the likes of bullies before. She just has that bubbly personality everybody tends to get along with. In other words, Yuigahama is the type of person who get along with everybody, and doesn't seem to have enemies or rivals. Even if she did, she might eventually smooth things over with the other party and eventually become friends, so I can understand why is questioning Yukinoshita's decision. But to _us,_ it is as clear as day why we can't help her.

Answer: We never actually dealt with our own bullying problem.

I should be more specific. What I mean to say is Yukinoshita and I never actually solved our bullying problem, but found alternative ways to deal with it—a band-aid solution. Yukinoshita stayed away and reframed from participating in the evils that come with bullying, and I just accepted it for I already know just how rotten this world it, and bullying—to me—is nothing more than a challenge in life some people deal with. We never actually solved our problems, so who are we to help Taira with hers. My bullying came in a more nuance way and was a collective effort by everybody. Yukinoshita was also a collective effort by the girls. Taira's is different in that three girls are actively making her life hell, and _we_ don't know how to solve that, emphasis on the word _we._ This is something Taira has to solve herself, and seeking the help from us is something she shouldn't have done for in some part of her mind, she knew we were going to turn her down, but she still did. I don't know. Perhaps she will be more vigilant than we were when we were younger, but given how she is, it will be difficult and I do wish her luck.

"This is something she has to do herself, Yuigahama-san." Yukinoshita reaffirms, looking directly into Yuigahama intently. "It would be best if we do not dwell in such matters and put it behind us." Her gaze eventually falls on me as I return hers with my own.

"Trust us, Yuigahama. This is for the best." I solidify Yukinoshita's decision.

"Okay. I trust you two, but I still think we could have done something to help." He gives in, still looking downcast as she forces a smile on herself, something she has been practicing for quite some time, but I can see through her faults on her practiced smile.

"If that is all settled, then I'm heading home now."

"Always thinking about reaching home." Yukinoshita comments disappointedly. _Nothing wrong about thinking about home._

"Okay. Well, I'll see you around Hikki." Yuigahama waves at me as she and Yukinoshita go one way, and myself in the opposite direction. Damn, and here I was believing I am going home, but the insomnia is starting to wear down my mind because at that moment, I remembered I have one more thing to do today, and I know I am not going to like it.

I have to meet the other Yukinoshita: Haruno Yukinoshita.

* * *

 _30 minutes later, Downtown…_

They say if you always expect the worst to happen, you'll be significantly satisfied when the worst doesn't happen. This type of clear-cut, immaculate thinking is just a method for people to cope and accept the harsh realities that accompany this world, and for many, having the knowledge that it could have been worse is enough to satisfy those type of people.

Frankly, it says a lot about their character. That people these days are so fragile to the hard truth that they will attempt any conceivable method to lesson harshness of a bad event, and it's quite pathetic. If a person can't accept the cold, hard truth at face value, then you might as well go back to the comforts of your home and stay inside. Luckily for me, I learned from a very early age just what exactly this world has to offer: a environment filled with people always endeavoring to maintain some sort of superficiality so fragile that lies tend to be championed over than the truth, and I for one will not be convinced by such ridiculous notions society has deemed good or _worthy_ to some extent.

What does this have to do with anything… well, I, Hachiman Hikigaya, am going to meet Yukinoshita Haruno, and I know what that entails, and I will not delude myself with any notions that it could be worse. I know just what kind of trouble entails when I go and meet with Yukinoshita, which is why I prefer to keep a ten-foot pole between me and her, but unfortunately for me, the long pole I can find that is carriable is two-meters. If anyone knows just what kind of person Yukinoshita Haruno is, he would be heading towards the mountains, and seeing this is Japan, a mountainous island, I still have time to haul ass to Fugi-san, but the condition I am in, I don't think I have the energy to make it to the outskirts of town. Come of think of it, I don't think I have ever met the real Yukinoshita Haruno. She maintains a plethora of mask that when one comes off, another is ready to take its place. Perhaps there is no _real_ Yukinoshita Haruno, but rather a culmination of different mask contributing to something much more worse.

I let out a yawn. Damn, I am in no condition to tangle with the likes of that purpled-eyed dragon, but not meeting with her at all will only give her more of a chance to set up more spider webs for my insect self to foolishly walk into. It is times like this…

*Thud*

I take a few steps back, bike dropping to the floor. Damn it, I am starting to lose focus to the point I am not seeing who is front of me. If I can't see the people in front of me, then how I am going to do battle with the she-devil herself.

"Sorry about that." Vigorously rubbing away any sleep accumulating in my eyes.

"H-Hikigaya-san…"

"Taira." I exasperate, surprised to see her on the streets. Seeing she still has her uniform on, she hasn't been home yet. Actually, the only new development about her is she is carrying a plastic bag in addition to her school bag. "What are you doing here?" I offer my hand. Her cheeks redden, before she reluctantly accepts, gingerly placing her left hand into mine as I summon whatever strength I have left to pull her back up to her feet. A beat of silence passes, and she hasn't said a word yet. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I'll just go my…"

"No, it's not that. It's just… after I ran out… I wasn't expecting to run into you…" she stumbles over her words, cutting me off as I was about to leave. "Well… sometimes… when I'm feeling depressed… I go to the book store." She presents the book store back, taking note of the store's logo. There is a small opening in the top, allowing me to see the title of the book she purchased.

"Asteroids, Stars, and Meteors: Wonders beyond the World" I read off the title of the book. Never would have pecked her as the astronomy type. "You like astronomy?" Her eyes dart away before retiring back, looking right into my eyes with this newfound sense of assurance and tranquility.

"Umm… not exactly."

"How so?" She straightens herself out, her posture quite different from before as trepidation isn't restricting her down to fear. If I didn't know any better, she seems… _different_ than before.

"Astronomy doesn't really interest me much. I only bought this book because…" Her cheeks are still red, but not as flushed as before when in the clubroom. Does she perhaps find it more calming when there isn't an audience of people? "I just… like… meteors."

"You like meteors?" I repeat, a few questions raising in my head.

"Yes. They have been on my mind lately. I just like how… _majestic_ they are."

 _Majestic?_ Can't say I never thought majestic a cosmic phenomenon can be, and from the look on her, she seems quite tranquil of it; like just talking about it revs her up enough to lose a bit of her demure personality.

"I like… the _capacity_ meteors can hold; how they can change everything in an instant and maintain a sense of… _sincerity_ to them." She isn't looking at me anymore, but beyond me, past me—losing herself to her own words as her shyness slowly fades away as her eyes begin to glimmer in awe and… _longing_ at whatever she is looking at—for she isn't looking at me, but her gaze is still in my direction.

It is almost as if I am seeing another person. Perhaps the perk of talking with somebody individually instead of in groups for people often reveal a little bit more of themselves when confront one individual instead of a group. If so, then why me? What have I done to earn this _privilege_ to witness a different side of Taira, who has this sense of reverence surrounding her.

 _Potential._

If this is the case, then what can Taira possibly see in me that she becomes comfortable enough to share her thoughts like that? It is not like I have the most trustworthy looks, and people tend to judge books by their covers. Her eyes suddenly widen as her gaze fixates on me, realizing where she is and who she is with, quickly turning away as her cheeks reach a new set of red.

"Uwahh.. sorry, you probably think I'm weird now spacing out like that."

 _C-cute…_

No! this isn't the time to thinking such thoughts that can betray Totsuka. Still, even if it is just the two of us here on the street, the way she acted just now doesn't sit well with me. Upon exploring that thought, nightmare images of what I dreamt about come flushing back into my mind. Yuigahama and Yukinoshita on the floor, crying themselves away under a blood-red moon as Yukinoshita Haruno stands over them, a wicked grin non-existent but rather a frown that can pierce steel and stop hearts. But the worst part of all of such a description is all three directed their anger/sadness towards me, the one responsible for their suffering.

What can all this mean? Why are these images and memories coming back at a time like this as I converse with Taira? What could I have possibly done to destroy my relationship with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama and earn the anger of Yukinoshita Haruno? It frustrating as hell, but it is more frustrating that I am letting some nightmare bother me this much. Is this some sort of punishment from the gods for the things I have done in the past? If I have offended such entities, please relieve of whatever twisted agenda you guys have on me. But I doubt pleading will do anything. I look over to Taira and notice the discomfort foreboding around her body. And it isn't until I see this that I notice just what my facial muscles are doing for she must think my displeased facial expression are meant for her seeing she looks like she wants to leave badly.

"I have to go now." She utters, quickly attempting to pass me. I should let her go; we have nothing more to say to each other. I made an ugly facial expression in my momentary despair, hurting to some extent. At best, If I leave her now, then whatever friendliness between us can be salvaged if I just let her go.

My body moves in the way of her path, stopping as she takes on step back.

"Sorry. I was just… thinking about some things and momentarily forgot where I was, but that is not the reason why I stopped you."

"W-why did you stop me then." She stutters.

"I'll help you with your bullying problem." I reveal, thought I don't think she took notice, but there is a bit of distain in the undercurrents of my voice—around the edges, in my tone. I shouldn't such a request for it doesn't feel right. It goes against what the Service Club has decided, but the last couple of events are pointing me—or goading at this point—to take such a request. I don't like it; I hate myself for uttering my last sentence, fully aware what such a request implies.

"But what about what your clubmates decided." She combats.

"You let me handle that; I'll convince them." A smile begins to formulate.

"Thank you. You don't know what this means to me. If there is nothing else, I have to get going. My family will start to worry if I don't reach home for dinner." And with that explanation, she allots me a bow and starts walking past me. I allow myself one deep breath, and take one step.

"Perhaps… you are…my…" I stop to give her my attention. "Never mind!" She states and quickly begins to run off, leaving me to wonder what she could have probably said.

* * *

The day or reckoning has come upon me as I push open the door to my favorite restaurant, the cashier giving me a wave seeing she recognizes who I am, to which I give her a wave back. She begins to pull up a menu before I raise my hand to stop her. I scan the surrounding area, and after one look over of the restaurant, I lay my eyes on the bubbly, fictitious smile as the person in question frivolously waves her hand back and forth, signaling me her position.

"Hikigaya-kun, over her!" To any normal person, this would seem more like a girlfriend calling out to her boyfriend and would probably assume they are really close—lovey-dovey close—but to me, I hear nothing but the call one would receive when they are taking the prisoner to the guillotine. I walk over to her, and take my seat across from her, taking notice of the glass of water half empty with small ice cubes.

"I see you've have been waiting for a while." I start off. She doesn't do much other than broaden her smile across her face, becoming more sinister in the process.

"How observant of you, but I wouldn't expect less from someone the likes of you." Her entire body shifts forwards as she rests her elbows on the table, allowing her head to be supported by her hands. "How have you been, Hikigaya-kun?"

"The same since the last time you saw me." That only makes her grin wider.

"If that's the case, then maybe I should do something for you to give you a pick-me up."

"What do you want?" I break whatever formalities she is endeavoring to ensnare me in.

"Boy, you really are rude." She draws closer, slowly closing the distance until her head is at the halfway point of the table. "But that's why I like you." I divert my eyes away from her.

"What's wrong. You look flush. Are you getting sick, or perhaps…" she lets pause hang for a while before continuing. "This is the first time a girl has confessed to you?" She openly mocks, her true intentions hidden away by the happy tone in her voice, almost mocking me to an extent.

"Why did you call me out here, Yukinoshita Haruno?" I ask once more, sternly I might add.

"Why… well that should be simple." Her hand slowly crawls across the table until it grips on my wrist, her soft hands applying variable amounts of pressure as her eyes look triumphantly into mine like she has already won the upcoming battle, which I agree with. Her head tilts in thoughtfulness.

"I wanted to see you."

 **Another chapter finished, make sure to leave your highly-sought reveiws**


	5. Ch 5 Patterns

**Ch 5. Patterns**

 _During times of comfort, it is easy to forget what is it like to not know—to lose prospective and certainty._

 **Hachiman's Point of View**

"I wanted to see you." Hearing such nectarine words effortlessly spoken from the likes of Yukinoshita Haruno is enough to make my skin crawl. It would make anybody's skin crawl if a demon reveals such information to you because you know it wants something from you, and it will stop at nothing to ascertain what it desires, much like the person sitting across from me… waiting patiently. All reason is telling me to get the hell away from her—as anybody should if a demon confronts you—but I am way past the point of no return, and my options are vanishing as time passes. It doesn't make me feel any better that she stated her intentions in the same longing, joyful tone one would use with a _friend_ you haven't seen in a long time _._ The suddenness catches me off guard. But what pisses me off the most is that disgusting, supercilious, sharp blade of a smile slowly growing wide and unstoppable as she stares directly into my soul with those refulgent purple-hued eyes. For she knows there is no escaping without me ruffling myself up and giving her what she desires. But what puts the final nail in the coffin for me is her hand holding onto my hand, which is a cause for concern because the last thing I want is for onlookers to think there might be a relationship between us other than a student-alumni one. However, even if onlookers were to think a relationship exist between us due to our hand holding—if anybody considers a wrist being part of the hand—I fail to see such unerring connotations being relevant here, especially if it involves the elder Yukinoshita for nothing is ever as it seems when Yukinoshita Haruno is present.

"You seem less responsive, Hikigaya-kun. Are you feeling alright? You do look a little awful… well… more awful than useful."

"…"

"No need to feel insulted. I was only teasing; you should learn to take a joke. Ha, Ha, Ha." She cackles. Her admittance to your back-handed concern does not make me feel any better, but when have I ever felt fine, decent, or adequate when you're around? It is only now I realize her hand has tightened as the heat difference between our skin is slowly coming to an equilibrium. "But something _does_ seemwrong." She continues, her tone somewhat plain compared to before. "So why don't you tell your Onee-san all about it. I have been told I'm a good listener by a few colleagues of mine." This time, sounding more chipper.

 _Colleagues_ … I find her choice of word intriguing. Of all the times I have met her, I have only seen her in a group once at the mall. Is that how she sees the people she associates with or is it the other way around for I never seen the same person with her.

Although she requested for my current well-being, her request feel more like a demand than anything else given her current assertive posture. But the current feature that remains misleading is her vigilant grin as her eyes narrow to a razor-sharp focus onto me much like a predator actively stalking its prey and preparing to pounce.

…

…

…

…

…

"You don't want to tell me anything." She tilts her head in a thoughtful manner, like she doesn't understand why and feigning insult for me not speaking to her though I don't think she would ever show me. "You're starting to hurt my feelings, Hikigaya-kun. Even after I invited you all the way out here just to talk." she continues with more of her feigned insulted expression and tone. I'm not buying it, and no amount of quasi-insult will ever make me feel bad for this she-devil in front of me. However, that changes almost immediately as she straightens out and leans in closer. "But it won't help you in the end." She warns in a half-audible whisper.

Is it too late to fake my death? In all seriousness, her last statement sends chill up through my spine. I can actually feel the goosebumps formulating all around my arms and legs. What does relieve me is that fact my goosebumps are concealed by my uniform so she doesn't see just how much she freaked me out. She would never let me hear the end of it if she found out she scares me, but then again, who am I to say she doesn't already know, which is perhaps one of many reasons why Yukinoshita Haruno likes to seek me out: to watch me struggle like a game master watching her contestant obliviously fall to the many traps set by her.

"Fine. You don't have to share if you don't want to." She decides nonchalantly. Her grip tightens, leaning forward slowly but surely. "Because your body will share what you will not." She annunciates. Okay, now I am starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. She is close, closer than I would want her to be for I can smell her perfume—it does smell nice but that is beside the point here. I hear the loud thumps of my heart pounding against my chest, and there is nothing for me to do to control it as two purple-hued eyes gaze at me in amused silence. Her eyes looking downward as she twists my wrist to reveal its underside. I follow her gaze, only to be led to her hand is wrapped around my wrist, firm yet delicate, her finger nails manicured and pristine, but nothing out of the ordinary. That's the first lesson you should learn when around Yukinoshita Haruno: Nothing ever seems as it is. I have learned this a long time ago and is the reason why I was able to bypass her cheerful façade when we first met. You could say I was partially aware of the dark nature behind her bright smile.

"110." What? Hundred-ten what. Has that much time gone by? 110 seconds of pure discomfort? I may be sleep deprived, but I doubt my perception of time is skewed to that point where I can't keep track of time. I look up, and her expression taunts _keep trying_ , tightening her grip as if on cue. I look down once more, but still nothing. I don't see… wait a minute…

"Tch, Tch, Tch, 110 beats per minute, Hikigaya-kun. A little bit above the accepted value, don't you think." I should have known there was a reason why she grabbed; her finger _placement_. To think she would use the finger method to take my heart rate is quite unexpected. Damn her resourcefulness. Damn it all to Hell. "A heart rate of 110 beat per minutes for someone like you who doesn't regularly exercise can only point to one thing: stress. Has Shizuka-chan been giving you a hard time, or perhaps something has come up between you, Yukino-chan and Gahama-san? Or…" She cutely places her finger on her cheek. "Perhaps you are overzealous to see me, and you can't keep it all contained?"

 _Tch… this witch_.It is taking an exorbitant amount of self-control just to reframe myself from showing my irritation to her. As I sit there constraining myself, Yukinoshita is now reclined back, giving me a smirk much like a child who smugly found a way around the rules. In other words, she is having way too much fun with this.

Her hand is still around my wrist, tenderly gripped as the heat flows from her hand into my hand, eventually reaching an equilibrium. The pressure on my wrist slowly loosens as her hand delicately releases its clutches, sliding across my palm, fingers dropping into the gaps between each of my finger and retracting away back to once they came, gliding over the wooden table, skin brushing against wood as the friction produces a mildly-uncomfortable squeak. Her gaze continues to scrutinize me, much to my dismay, and things will continue to be like this until she is finished with me or I break, whichever comes first. I gnash my teeth; it is the only way for me to vent my accumulating frustration without her noticing. I know it is not a healthy habit, but I refuse to allot her the ecstasy her knowing she is hitting a nerve.

"Aren't you going to say something, Hikigaya-kun? It's impolite to make a girl do all the talking when she invites you out on a date. The least you can do is make an effort." She goads with a quasi-playfulness dripping in her words. First off, this is not a date, but I know what her intentions are for phrasing it like that, so I am not going to comment on that. "But this rudeness is something I have come to expect. It's one of the reason why I have come to like you." She adds. Besides her off-handed confession, she's right: she did ask a question, and it would be mighty rude to me not to answer, so I'll oblige her this time.

"I am."

…

…

…

…

…

"Hikigaya-kun…" she breaks the momentary silence, but stress and exhaustion makes it feel like an eternity, not to mention picking up on the trace amounts of discontent hidden in her tone. "I didn't think such time apart from each other would turn you into a cheeky person. I thought by now Shizuka-chan would have beaten that out of you." She takes a sip of her water.

"People don't change easily just because a fist was thrown…. At least, not where it counts." I should say fists, but there is no need to inform her such information… or the bruises. Something as small as giggle is let out of her mouth, air causing the water in the cup to bubble, not entirely sure if she is amused by my statement or mocking me. It would be better if it is the latter for I am more comfortable dealing with ridicule. She places her cup down.

"Such wisdom coming from someone like you. Didn't peck you to be so optimistic, Hikigaya-kun."

"If I was so optimistic, then you wouldn't be meeting with me, and would kick me to the curb like yesterday's garbage." I retort, a grin of my own weakly forming, much to her satisfaction.

"I suppose your right. And I'm glad." She admits. "No need for the school to have two smiling idiots." There is no doubt she is referring to him, and judging by her tone and her description, I doubt she has anything nice to say, not surprising since I don't have anything nice to say about him either. That much we can agree on. I thought we would leave it there, but… "He was always like that, you know. Even as a kid, he would never let down that annoying smile of his. Always trying to be some sort of mediator or Arbiter* between his group of so-called _friends_." Her fiery gaze extinguishes down to embers upon finishing her statement, her grin dying down as well. "Making sure _everything_ ran smoothly, protecting them from any sort of eventuality, even if it meant hiding away his true nature—all with that smile on his face." The subtle sarcastic overtone in her description and her drawn-out pronunciation of _'everything'_ only further solidifies my assumptions about her thoughts on him. And yet, despite her annoyance, I can't help but detect the overlaying disappointment in her voice. "Some would call it admiral; selflessly protecting the stability of the group while sacrificing your desires."

"What would you call it?" I find myself mumbling without thinking, causing her expression to liven up like I have just asked the million-dollar question of the day.

"Idiocy." I let that one-word answer sit with me for the longest of time. I can at least agree with her there to an extent. The way he keeps his clique together even though the slightest problem can tear them apart is abhorring. "What else would I call it?" she continues, taking another sip of water as she awaits my answer.

"Asinine." I answer almost reactively.

"Is that what you would call it, Hikigaya-kun?"

"You should know what my thoughts are on someone like Hayama." I remind her. She, instead, laughs it up like I have just told her a funny joke. Yet another mask.

"I suppose you're right." She answers as she straights out, her expression turning a complete 180. "However, you don't quite understand. I don't think you ever understood since we started our little conversation." She reveals, her expression unchanged, never once hiding behind one of her mask. "Yukino-chan doesn't understand it yet either, so don't feel too bad about it." I contemplate what she has reveals, but my mind only draws a blank. Is this the reason why she called me over, or is she just trying to mess with me yet again? And why bring up Yukinoshita of all times? What exactly are we not getting? I do notice she conveniently left out Yuigahama, but that only serves to reinforce the idea she is irrelevant to the conversation or rather she has no interest in her. "Both of you are dense and obstinate, especially when it comes to… _delicate_ matters, more so you than her. Her grades may say otherwise, but Yukino-chan isn't quite that smart when it comes to these kind of things and frankly, neither are you. _But,_ I have a feeling you'll figure it out before Yukino-chan. That's one thing that you have over her. You just need is a little more… _time_ is all." Her monologue comes to an end as she takes one last sip from the cup before empties its contents, placing the now-empty cup on the edge of the table. That mask and smile she had before her talk manifest itself once more as time passes along through the wordless silence between us.

Something Yukinoshita and I don't understand quite yet, but the elder Yukinoshita has high hopes for me than her own sister. It's clear Haruno has higher regards for me than for Yukinoshita if she thinks I can understand certain _delicate_ matters or whatever she is referring to better than Yukinoshita. But still, she chose to confide this to me over her sister, which makes sense seeing Yukinoshita has it out for her, but I doubt such a trivial matter would stop her from confronting her younger sister.

If I have learned anything about Haruno Yukinoshita, it is she always has something in the works, and it looks like through no fault of my own other than being my loner self, I managed to stumble my way onto the spotlight, but it is not like I was the only one she had eyes on. Hayama and Yukinoshita were also contestants, but in her eyes, they were nothing more than B-listed actors while I am the much-desired A-listed actor to star in her production of twist and turns, and what better way to know I obtained the spot by revealing a bit of information to me—a lone spotlight illuminating a single spot on the stage in a dark theater.

"Aren't you going to say something?" What can I say? With such a revelation and with my status, I don't have enough capacity to fully understand it quite yet the gravity of the situation.

"You believe I am capable of something Yukinoshita and Hayama aren't…" I lead off, earning myself another lively, facilitated expression. "Which is why you are sharing this information with me because you believe I won't fall into the same pitfalls those two have fallen into."

"You could say that. You three have your own fair share of problems, but unlike those two, you never gave in or lied to yourself about the reality of the _Situation_. Their inability to do so resulted in who they are today." She pauses rig there like she is giving me a moment to fill in the blank.

"Do you want me to say it?" I ask, fully aware of what word she is thinking of. I have no problem calling Hayama that, but it is a different situation for Yukinoshita for I don't see her under such a light, unlike Yukinoshita Haruno.

"No, you don't have to, but at least you can understand my disappointment. And then there's you. It's clear you've been hurt, much like Yukino-chan, but unlike her and Hayato, you pressed forward through the pain and ridicule."

"And because of that, you think I am more capable than those two." I finish her sentence, but…

"No, at least, not yet anyway. Like I said, you're still a growing boy, and growing boys need time to develop, but you have gained something Yukino-chan and Hayato don't have." Before she can continue, a phone notification goes off. I have my phone on vibrate, so I assume it came from her. A bit annoyed as her smirk falters slightly, she takes it out of her pocket and looks at the message. From what I can tell, she glosses over the message for only a few moments before placing her phone down on the table, sighing.

"And here I thought I would be spending a bit more time with you." She utters slightly disappointed. "It would seem Mother is requesting my presence back home." The Yukinoshita matriarch. I know very little about her, but from what I have learned, she is exceedingly more formidable and trepidatious than the latter before me—remembering back to when Haruno explicitly told me her mother is scarier than her. I also recall the time how Haruno compared Yukinoshita's methods to her, to which she found the comparison visibly repugnant. She slides out of the booth and turns to face me with satisfaction surrounding her. "I had fun, but next time, let's have a more serious conversation."

"And what makes you think there will be a second time?" I croak. Taking it as a challenge, she bends down so she is at eye level and right up to me face, forcing me to lean backwards to gain some space.

"I can be very persuasive, Hikigaya-kun." She annunciates, our noses almost touching. "So persuasive I can perhaps convince Yukino-chan to come with us next time."

"And Yuigahama?" I insert as she 'forgot' to mention her as her omnipresent smile falters just a bit as she pulls back like a girl not wanting to invite somebody to a slumber party but must because she was ordered to by a parent.

"I guess we can invite Gahama-san to our conversation, though I don't think she will be able to keep up." Yukinoshita Haruno off-handily states, taking a jab into Yuigahama's capacity for intelligence, to which I do agree in a way.

"Do you really think Yukinoshita would come? I doubt she would _willingly_ go anywhere with you given your current standing with her." It is at that moment her eyes twinkled like I have yet again asked another million-dollar question.

"Of course, she would come. After all…" She leans in closer again, her voice dropping down to an almost whisper. "Yukino-chan owes me one." And with that cryptic remark, she sends me one more mock smile before returning to her standing position and leaves the establishment. As soon as she is out of my sight, I plop my head on the table and causing a huge 'thud' sound. If only I can just fall asleep here, but I can't really do that now can I. I have a long trip ahead of me and it is going to suck to keep awake. During my contemplation on how I am to return home, I hear of a dish set near me. I look up and see a waitress place a cup of black coffee in front of me with 2 packets of milk.

"This is for you. It's already been paid for by the woman you were with. She wanted me to give you this and tell you something after she left." She pulls out her notepad and reads the message. " _For sweet Hikigaya-kun_."

"…"

"You're pretty lucky to have a beautiful girlfriend like her." She comments. Even beyond the end of our meeting, Yukinoshita Haruno always gets the last laugh. I take a deep breath and turn to the waitress.

"She is not my girlfriend."

* * *

 _Hachiman's Home…_

After finally arriving to my sanctuary later than usual, Komachi confronted me about my whereabouts. I don't want to tell her about my encounter with the elder Yukinoshita and get her hopes up, so I decided to leave the information regarding Yukinoshita Haruno out and told her I was at Saize's enjoying a meal despite me not eating anything since lunch. That earned me a glare from her, disappointed not hearing that I was going out on some sort of date. She eventually gave up her mini-interrogation and allowed me to go to my fortress of solitude known as my room. Locking the door behind me, I collapse face first onto my bed and gave a big exhale. Despite my exhausted state and my body's yearning for deep slumber, my thoughts are preoccupied with today's events as I play them over and over again: Taking Taira's request behind Yuigahama and Yukinoshita's backs and meeting with Yukinoshita Haruno. One left me with a bitter after taste, and the other sealed the deal. But enough is enough, I just want some sweet shut eye. Reluctantly, I push myself off my bed and slip into something more comfortable than my school uniform—a white t-shirt and shorts. I slide under my covers and rest my head on my pillow, finally able to put an end to this tiresome day.

* * *

 _Elsewhere…_

 **? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Point of View**

The moon is shining brightly tonight, enough for the moonlight to illuminate the room enough so the need for artificial light is non-existent. Hard to imagine something this beautiful can be witnessed here in the city. You'd usually have to venture out to the woods to ascertain such a view. But something beautiful like that has always been there, and it will continue to be there for who knows how long—that's the _beauty_ of it; the longevity; something I wish to capture one day, and that day is fast approaching as I make my _visions_ of grandeur into a reality.

Hikigaya is exceptionally keen when it comes to observing others. It's his uncanny, refined skill he developed that allows him to read situations and people to an extent and can manipulate others to favor an outcome—look no further than the Cultural festival. It was clearly a train wreck waiting to happen. What the hell was Sagami doing anyway? It all should have blown up in her face and would have to answer for her terrible leadership. However, such a reality did not ensue. Instead, everyone felt sorry for her, but their pity for her bares no relation to her leadership skills. Not surprisingly, Hikigaya had become the most hated person in school after her verbal barrage of insults and truths. I put two and two together to realize what he had achieved and with effective results.

Regardless, observation and understanding of the psyche had become a valuable skill for the cynical loner. Observe long enough, and you'll start to notice the _patterns._ 's the brain's natural tendency. It's amazing how any progress can be made when our minds are so fixated on repetition—to endlessly loop around on the same track. If you ask me, it's probably a learning-curve thing.

Regardless, I watched my classmates, taking in their words and actions to better understand what Hikigaya meant on that fateful day. Even through the concrete, I can still his words clear as day ringing through my head, followed by a door slamming and catching a glimpse of Yukinoshita running away from it all. Given what I knew about them at the time, I couldn't fully grasp it as I paced around the classroom attempting to do so. But that all changed when I came to school the next day, listening and watching others interact. They always talked about the same things, hitting the same points to a degree, laughing it up with each other about silly hypotheticals; it all felt so tautological I felt disillusioned with them—I became aware of a _pattern._ There was no substance in their talk or actions, only hollow, superficial nonsense.

 _Is this what the Service Club doesn't want?_

I kept my eye on the Service club, wanting to know how things will progress, but it became excruciating apparent the only change made is they're not disappointed in each other.

 _This is what they call Genuine?_

I'm not impressed.

It is apparent now they are only interested in maintaining the _peace_ of the overall situation, failing to realize the only thing they have maintained was something that looks like peace, confusing it with something vastly different.

 _They are supposed to be the example here!_

I found myself screaming internally. Regardless, I maintained my distance and kept observing, giving them the benefit of the doubt, hoping for something to occur. Laying down on my bed, staring at the ceiling, still pondering on his words with nothing coming to mind.

 _The request… no, the Request._

It was at that moment it came to me like a proverbial ton of bricks. Everything I have witness from those three and my classmates came flooding to my mind as I connected the dots: patterns, behaviors, goals, everything.

 _The Service Club… they can't possibly mean…_

I found myself shaking my head in horror.

 _Oh no…_

The realization was catastrophic to the point I felt a lone tear dripping down my cheek—it was too much to handle. Wiping the lone tear away, I buried my face into my pillow, contemplating what to do next. The Service Club… just thinking about it after my realization is enough to make me feel a tightness in my throat.

I had a very hard time sleeping that day.

But that is all in the past. No use dwelling on what can't be changed. The past will remain there unmoved, outside of our reach, bearing only as an ignominious mark on the person, doomed to forever suffer as the person dwells on it. Perhaps serving as some sort of eternal punishment in the grand scheme of things.

But that is where I diverge from Hikigaya Hachiman, Yukinoshita Yukino, and Yuigahama Yui for I see the _Big Picture_. No longer will I uphold what they are advocating for themselves and the people who come to them. Once everything crumbles away, and they are left the task of picking the fruit from the tree they have sewed, there will be nothing for them to harvest, and I'll be there when that time comes; my shadow looming over them as I stand on a robust foundation on top of the hill. In time, they will realize what it means to fail. They can dread it, marginalize it, but fate still arrives. My only hope here is _She_ sees the same picture and understands what I am hoping to achieve. After all, she is the one who put the three of them together. She just has to see it, right?

Without missing a beat in my thought process, I hear the door creak open as the invading light from the hallway further lights up the moonlit room.

"Sweetie… Are you in here?" she calls out for me. I can only assume at this point she has located the turn-away chair housing me on it, so I say nothing.

"You know your father doesn't like it when you sit in the dark in his study."

"…"

"Are you not going to answer me?" I thought my lack of response is answer enough, but it seems she is seeking for a verbal confirmation. Regardless, I remain the same.

"I know you are not happy about this, and I can understand. I didn't like it when I was your age, but it doesn't have to be terrible. Have you at least made preparations for the…"

"I told you I would get to it!" I lash out, not bothering to swivel my chair around to face her, tightly griping the armrest. She's appalled, taken back, and insulted, but that doesn't bother me the slightest, not when I have grandeur plans to enact and a paradigm to topple. I look forward for what is about to come, but I loathe the fact she is making me hasten my plans. I grab the blanket over me and further conceal myself, sending the message I have nothing more to say to her.

"… Fine… just… don't be here when your father arrives…" she whimpers, closing the door as she walks away, silent sobbing piercing through the door. In retrospect, I should apologize, but I have other things that require my attention. I have a big event tomorrow that will set in motion the Service Club's downfall.

She'll get over it… eventually.

I arise from the seat and move towards the window, looking at the starry night sky with the awe-inspiring moon. At least the moon can give me some solace. It is during my gazing at the moon, right to the left of it, something bright and fast zips by, bringing me a sense of joy.

* * *

 **Hachiman's Point of View…**

 _Lunchtime…_

I feel rejuvenated.

After acquiring a long night of rest, my body has returned to its normal, functioning state. I could have sworn I heard horns off in the distance as I arose from my bed. However, such bliss lasted mere seconds before I strained to look at my phone. It would seem my body needed much more rest than anticipated as I managed to sleep through the alarms, oversleeping yet again. The door opened soon after as I peer at an already-ready-for-school Komachi standing at the doorway, a shocked expression on her since I was nowhere near ready. Without hesitation, I kick her out of my room for some quick changing into my uniform, running down stairs and eating the prepared toast, and hauling ass to school once more. Unlike last time, I was graced to have a little bit more time and all the intersection lights were green, reaching the school 10 minutes before classes started. Fortune was smiling upon me that morning.

Walking into my class, I directed myself to my assigned seating, preparing to listen to music before class started. I would have liked to enjoy that time to myself, but from the corner of my eye, I see Yuigahama waltzing over towards me, forcing me take out my ear plugs.

"Hikki, you're not almost late today." She points out.

"Yeah. I was exhausted yesterday, but I'm fine now."

"That's a relief, I guess…." Beats of silence go by as she nervously shakes her shoulders, hands behind her back slightly swinging back and forth, eyes darted away from my general direction. I sigh.

"Is there something else on your mind? I assume the real reason you came over here." I bite. More silence passes, her hands no longer behind her but griping the hem of her skirt, her mouth attempting to say something but nothing coming out. Eventually, she starts.

"Sorry, I'm still thinking about what happened yesterday. I mean rejecting Taira's request in all." And with that, I am reminded of my previous day's actions as a gut-wrenching feeling begins to insidiously creep up on me. Telling her and Yukinoshita of my decision would only undermine what we have now or rather endeavoring to stride for, and yet I took it up despite knowing what could happen. Damn you Yukinoshita Haruno for being right—I really am an idiot.

"There's not much we can do regarding situations like Taira's _._ Like Yukinoshita said, it is in our best interest to stay out of situations like that." Her concern look says otherwise. "I am sure it's still fresh in your memory the last time we decided to amend a similar situation." I lean forward, looking over at her clique as I see the two prime examples laughing it up over there. Yuigahama catches on and joins me, a sudden realization coming into fruition.

"Ebina and Tobe." She utters. It is times like this is where I loathe myself because I always end up hurting those around me with the pink-haired, bubbly teenage girl next to be serving as a _paradigm_. Her facial muscles strain as they form a sadden expression, eyes downcast and sorrowful as memories of that time in Kyoto resurface once more. She turns to face me.

"I see…. I guess I kind of understand where you and Yukinon are coming from."

"Point being, it best to avoid those kinds of situations for _our_ sake." My stomach twist as those words leave my mouth. We can solve these kinds of problems, but given how Yuigahama and Yukinoshita have seen how I operate, it's clear I can produce results as Hiratsuka mentioned, but the fallout the methods utilized will be catastrophic, and I don't want to place ourselves in another situation like than when we have just found some closure, but me taking up Taira's request is jeopardizing that.

"For our sake…" she mumbles. The bell rings after, cutting Yuigahama off from whatever she is planning to share. Closing her eyes, she puts on a smile and waves good-bye as she rejoins her clique. It is during her return I see Miura glaring daggers at me for no obvious reason. Perhaps she watched our conversation and noticed Yuigahama's sudden expression changes. Whatever, I doubt she can hear what we talked about unless she has keen hearing—one of 108 loner skills I developed.

"Yui, are you alright." I hear Miura inquire of Yuigahama.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You looked kind of bummed out when you were talking with Hikio."

"Oh, Hikki? We were just talking about club stuff is all."

"… If you say so…" she finishes as the first period teacher walks in.

Nothing eventful happens during the morning. There was a pop quiz in English—pretty sure I did okay—and Hiratsuka-sensei singled me out to recite a chosen text of literature. I am sure she only did that to make sure I was paying attention and to punish me for yesterday's remarks. Other than those two events, everything was per as usual, and before I knew it, lunch time had rolled around.

Securing my food, I travel to my usual spot by the staircase to enjoy my lunch in tranquility. Yuigahama usually enjoys her lunches with Yukinoshita in the club room. She has invited me to eat with her and Yukinoshita, but I always refuse.

I also forgot to mention Totsuka asked me if he can borrow a pencil. No matter the situation, I can never deny any request the angel Totsuka makes. If he needs money to purchase some food, I would have been more than willing to aid him in his time of hunger. Totsuka inquiring me for a pencil is currently the highlight of my morning.

Twenty minutes goes by, and I finish my lunch and currently returning to my classroom. There is still five minutes before lunch ends, so the people are still at it with lunch. The hope here is I return to my classroom, back to my seat, and wait out lunch while listening to music. Along the way, around the corner of the hallway, an individual emerges from behind the wall, both of us almost crashing into each other. I reactively take a step back, and she does the same but more dramatic—she jumps backwards.

"Taira-san."

"Hikigaya-san…." She trails off, a frantic expression already planted on her as she looks at me with those crimson-colored eyes. Now that I mention it, her shoulders are hunched up and her ankles bent slightly ready to react at a moment's notice and she is constantly looking around. It is practically screaming at me what she is doing, or rather, who she is endeavoring to avoid.

"Hey Taira, over here!" I hear somebody yell from across the hall. Taira's eyes widen in trepidation as her entire body nervously shakes, almost wanting to cry. I look behind to find three girls standing near the girl's restroom. They all have varying heights—two of them slightly shorter than me and one slightly taller. The tall one, presumably the leader, is wearing a uniform like everybody else but has disregarded the school dress code and wearing an unapproved red jacket over her vest. Her hair has two strands of green-highlights, and has it set in a sideways ponytail, and her ears are pierced. The other two lackeys also have similar modification to their uniform. And all of them are wearing heavy make-up; various-colored eye shadow and red lipstick. Without acknowledging me, Taira scuttles over towards them sheepishly. Arriving, the leader wraps her arm around Taira's shoulders and wears a giddy smile like they're old friends.

An intimidation tactic.

"You know, my friends and I are all thirsty and really want something to drink. And then I thought our good-ole friend Taira can help us with that. How about it? Can you loan us some money? You know we'll pay you back." The ring leader ask—I should say coerce—with a crooked smile as her hold around Taira tightens like a coiled snake. I don't know them, but I know for a fact they have no intention of reimbursing Taira.

"I… sorry but… I… don't have any money. I used it up buying lunch." She replies guiltily, head and eyes cast down to the floor.

"Huh!?" the ring leader snorts. "That's a shame because my friends and I are reeeeally thirsty, and we were hoping our bestest friend could help us out." The ring leader places more weight on Taira, becoming harder for her to stay standing up as her legs strain under her weight. "But if you don't have any money, then that presents a problem. Perhaps we can _bang_ this out in the bathroom. What do you say?" she demands as the ring leader strongarms Taira into the bathroom while still around her with the two lackeys following behind, each one cracking and stretching their fingers. We make eye contact right at the last second before she disappears behind the bathroom door as her fate awaits.

 _Damn it_!

I'm sorry Taira. I can't do anything but watch. I feel like a helpless child watching as his mother is being mugged. With a heavy heart, I grudgingly return to homeroom with that heavy, a twisting feeling right in my stomach.

Because Taira being pulled into the bathroom is not the only reason for that sickening feeling.

* * *

 _After school…_

"Ne, Hikki, we should go to club together!" Yuigahama suggest happily, appearing almost out of nowhere as I pack up my stuff, my mind still heavy after what I have witnessed.

"Are you sure? Do you really want to be seen with me walking out of this classroom?" I reply, endeavoring not to show any concern to her.

"Mou, Hikki! You can be so negative. It is so much of a bother for us to walk to club together?"

"Yes…"

"Hmpf, stupid Hikki!" she pouts, sending two playful fists at my shoulder. "Fine, if it is so much of a nuisance, I'll just wait for you outside in the hallway. I know you did that for me, so I will return the favor." She smiles as she heads out the door. Sighing, I continue to pack up my stuff, wishing I could have contributed more, but as I said, my mind is elsewhere. Better not keep her waiting.

Shoulder to shoulder, Yuigahama and I walk down the hallway, myself looking forward and her texting away to someone in her clique.

"Ne, Hikki," she shatters the silence between us as she puts her phone in her pocket. "Have you seen Taira today?" I stop, standing still briefly as I let the question sink in.

"Yes." I decide. "I saw her right before lunch ended in the hallway. Why do you ask?" I probe out the situation.

"N-no reason. I just saw her today when I was coming out of the bathroom one hour ago."

"And…" I push forward, desiring to know what has happen to Taira.

"And… well, I talked with her, apologized for not being able to take up her request, and said good-bye."

"Is that it? Did she say anything? Did she look different?" I press forward.

"Why do you keep asking these questions?" Crap! I am letting my haste get the better of me. Need to approach this more strategically as to not draw too much attention.

"… No reason… I just wanted to know how she was doing. She looked bumped out when I ran into her, so I was just wondering if she is still like that."

"Bumped out? She looked fine to me. In fact, I think she was smiling a bit."

"Smiling?" Smiling, that's good to hear. I guess she must have dodged a bullet with those girls and left her alone. I want it to be the end, but there is something else gnawing at me. Those girls were ready to beat the living crap out of her, but to hear she was let go untouched is quite astonishing. In fact, it's _too_ astonishing. I doubt they had a change of heart in the bathroom, and I doubt they wanted to intimidate her seeing she is already fearing for her well-being. I want to believe they left her alone, but my cynicism can't let it down. It was right about the true nature of Yukinoshita Haruno, so I am taking this news with a grain of salt and investigate further.

Right when I gain awareness of my surrounding, I found myself right in front of the door to the clubroom. Yuigahama reaches for the handle, but the door opens, revealing Yukinoshita standing on the other side, surprised to see us.

"Oh, Yuigahama-san, Hikigaya-kun."

"Yukinon, Good afternoon. Say, where are you going?"

"Hiratsuka-sensei has requested my presence in the teacher's lounge. She told me to visit after school right before classes began." She answers, closing the door behind her.

"Oh… well, okay. C'mon, Hikki." Yuigahama decides with Yukinoshita taken back as she straightens out slightly.

"Yuigahama-can, Hiratsuka-sensei request my presence only. There is no necessity for you and Hikigaya-kun to accompany me."

"But it would be fun, Yukinon! All of us walking together. It would be like a mini-field trip. We never go anywhere with the three of us unless it's a request." The pink-haired girl whines. Yukinoshita looks over towards me, and I her, she looks back at a downcast Yuigahama and sighs.

"Hiratsuka-sensei never specified that she only required my attendance." A smile begins to brighten on Yuigahama's face. "I guess it cannot be ameliorated."

"Thanks, Yukinon!"

"No thanks are necessary. I am only looking out for you, Yuigahama-san."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"It would be exponentially safer for you to accompany me to a supervised room for I fear something inexplicable will transpire if I leave you alone with that hormonal boy over there." She explains in a matter-of-fact tone as she points at me like I'm yesterday's garbage that somebody needs to take out but nobody wants to.

"Oi! Don't treat me like I'm some sort of criminal."

"It is a valid concern, Hikigaya-kun. I can't tell you the number of times I feared for my chastity when it was just the two of us in the clubroom as you stare at me with those twisted eyes. I fear you would do the same with Yuigahama-san."

"In case you haven't noticed, I have never committed a crime before, so your suspicions are unjustified." I retort.

"Girls can never be too cautious, Hikipervy-kun, especially during our adolescence. Think of it as me looking out for a fr… a clubmate." She responds, catching herself mid-sentence and stutter to correct it. _I guess she is not ready to say that word yet._ And frankly, neither am I.

"Thanks, Yukinon." You know full well I am not going to assault either of you, but that doesn't impede Yuigahama as she shows her appreciation by wrapping her arms around Yukinoshita's left arm and resting her head on her shoulder.

"…Y-yuigahama-san…." she trails off.

"Sorry, my bad." Feeling our little quarrel concluding, we all venture to the teacher's lounge. Both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama in front of me, talking to each other while I walk from behind, keeping a distance. It remains like this all the way to the teacher's lounge. Knocking twice and hearing the audio cue, Yukinoshita opens the door, finding Hiratsuka-sensei laid back against her chair with the stack of papers out in front, assuming to be today's assignment. Approaching her, I notice the paper she is currently grading is mine, and judging from tall stack of ungraded papers and non-existent graded stack, I am left of assume she consciously went after mine first.

"What are all of you doing here?" Hiratsuka-sensei inquires, putting my paper down upside down, swerving her chair in our direction.

"Yuigahama-san wanted all of us to come here to discuss whatever matters you intended to discuss with me." Yukinoshita answers.

"I see. Well, I have no problem with that. I can probably get more information this way. I assume Yukinoshita has already told you why I wanted to see her."

"You wanted to learn more about Taira-san's request. More specifically, what our ultimate verdict ended up being." I answer.

"Since you already know, what did you guys decide?" Yukinoshita steps forward.

"Regrettably, we have decided to decline Taira-san's request for the nature of her request is something we are not adequately equipped with to handle effectively. I fear involving ourselves in such a request will only cause more problems." Hiratsuka crosses her arms and closes her eyes, taking her time to weigh in the words Yukinoshita expressed.

"What are your opinions, Hikigaya?" It's not a surprise she would ask about my thoughts: the person who almost always solves the issues, but I knew that is not the only reason as she stares intently at me, wanting to know what is going through my mind.

"I agree with Yukinoshita. Its best we stay out of request like Taira's. They're more trouble than their worth. Besides, the problems that would arise may not necessary be related to the request itself." I add in, looking around to see all of them listening very carefully. Hiratsuka-sensei leaves her trained eyes on me for a while. It is almost as if she is trying to stare into my soul with those eyes of hers. I can understand her taking more time weighing in my thoughts. It is because of this I don't believe she completely bought Yukinoshita's explanation. It is very possible she brought Taira to us knowing full well we would decline the request. The way I see it, it is almost like she is testing us to see if anything as come about. However, there is also the possibility she took my answer is evaluating it carefully because I didn't tell her about my own actions but only the club's decision. Eventually, her eyes glide over to the last person.

"And your thoughts, Yuigahama? How do you feel about this decision?"

"Me…? Well… ah… you know… As much as I want to help… uh… Taira out, I think I agree with Yukinon and Hikki."

"You think or you know?"

"…Uhhhh…." Even I felt that from over here. I never would have expected for Hiratsuka-sensei to grill Yuigahama on an answer. I know she usually goes with the flow and make sure everybody is happy; she was like that in the beginning. "well… uhhh… I still want to help, but Yukinon and Hikki are right, I know it will cause problems if we decide to help Taira."

"I see." She understands as she nods her head slightly. "It's a shame you guys couldn't help Taira out with her request, but as I thought, the nature of the request would be too taxing on you three. Don't worry about it anymore. I'll talk to Taira and see if there is anything I can do." She finishes. "Thanks for coming over here to discuss this with me. Sorry for the inconvenience of making you three walk all the way out here."

"Do not worry yourself over it, Hiratsuka-sensei. This is much more favorable than to have Hikipery-kun over there left alone with Yuigahama-san."

"Didn't I already tell you that I haven't done anything and will never do anything to you two." I retort. I look over to see Hiratsuka-sensei smiling.

"It would seem you guys are getting along quite nicely." Hiratsuka-sensei comments.

"Only because it would be more logical for all of us to cooperate." Yukinoshita explains hastily, a bit flush after sensei's comment. "Constantly bickering with each other would serve no purpose to the Service club."

"Which reminds me… Hikigaya, would you stay back for a minute. There's something I want to talk to you about." I don't find this surprising whatsoever; I was half-expecting her to pull me aside to ascertain the real details without Yuigahama and Yukinoshita present. Glancing over, I see the two girls looking at me with miniscule amount of worry. Eventually, the two girls escorted themselves out of the teacher's lounge.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" I initiate the dialogue. She leans back onto her chair and swivels to face me directly with her sharp eyes locked on to mine.

"Is there anything else you want to tell that isn't in front of Yukinoshita or Yuigahama?"

"It is like Yukinoshita explained, we are ill-equipped to take on this request." She does not like my answer as she stares at me with scrutiny and concern.

*sigh*

"Her request is something all-too familiar with me and Yukinoshita, and both of us never really handled it so much as we pushed it away and continued with our lives." I explain. She leans back, arms crossed and weighing my answer in her mind. Eventually, she leans forward.

"Just as I expected. You know, I went to you guys half expecting to decline her request, and I guess I was right. Can't expect you guys to help with this request when it is a problem you two never truly handled. I won't ask you two go any deeper; however, I get the sense you are not telling me or those two everything." Hiratsuka-sensei shares as she stands up and approaches me. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

I remain silent.

"Fine. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm only asking you because I'm your teacher and worry about you. But remember what we talked about in my car that one day, and know you can't do it all yourself, Hikigaya. Now if you excuse me, I have some assignments to grade."

With all that said and done, I bow to Hiratsuka-sensei as I leave and close the door behind me. To my surprise, I see my two clubmates waiting for me right across the hallway.

"You guys waited." I start.

"Well… um… We came together, so we should leave together." Yuigahama explains.

"What did Hiratsuka-sensei talk to you about?" Yukinoshita gets straight to the point. I don't intend on telling her about it.

"Not much. She… just wanted to talk about my assignment it all."

"I see…" Yukinoshita trails off, not completely satisfied with my answer.

And with that awkward bit of dialogue, we make our way back to the clubroom. Yukinoshita and Yuigahama are in front again while I am a few steps behind them as they talk with one another.

"I really do hope Taira finds the help she needs." Yuigahama starts.

"That would be most desirable, but as we have mentioned previous, it would have to be from someone else."

"I know, but we can still wish her luck, you know."

"That we can do, Yuigahama-san." We all then turn a corner, only for their conversation to halt momentarily as three female students down the hallway approach us. Our eyes widen as all of us are taken back the state the three approaching students are in, especially me because I recognize those three students.

One of them is taking small steps as to not worsen whatever has been injured while she grips the left side of her stomach. Another is limping as well but has her hand over her eye with a small ice pack with her arm covered in scratches and bruises. The last one—the tallest of them all and slightly taller than me—looks to have the worst of the injuries. Unlike her lackeys, she has a medical headband around her forehead with her left cheek bruises and a bit bloodied. She has one arm rested onto her friend's shoulder because letting go would probably cause her to fall indicated by the tiny steps she takes. Her other hand is holding an ice pack being applied to her shoulder to—what I assume—to cause whatever swelling to calm down. All of them didn't have their make-up on anymore as indicated by the small smudges of make-up they wiped off. Each of them briefly look at the three of us as we stare at them.

"What the f* % are y'all lookin at?"** The ring leader barks. We say nothing. Not wanting to waste their time on us, all of them ignore us and focus more on reaching their next destination as they turn the corner and disappear.

"They looked terrible." Yuigahama comments after they leave. Terrible is one way to put it. I prefer to use the term beaten up. "What do you think happened to those three?"

"It would appear from visual evidence those three delinquents have involved themselves in an altercation, to which they have failed." Yukinoshita inserts.

"A fight… I didn't think that kind of stuff would happen at this school. Still, if there was a fight, then wouldn't we have heard something about it?" I can agree with her there. It is typical in high school for events such as fights to quickly spread around the school like wildfire without word leaking out to the school faculty. But what I want to know is who are the culprits that could have done that to those three girls. Nothing comes to mind as to who could be responsible.

However, something does feel off as a familiar feeling comes over me. There is only two times when such a feeling or suspicions as come over me. Once, when I first met Yukinoshita Haruno and another time when I first became acquainted with Isshiki Iroha. If it's what I think it is, then why didn't it come up when I first met her. Is it perhaps my request to finding something Genuine has somewhat hindered by ability to decipher people's words and actions? This would be most likely because I can't find something Genuine if I keep reading in-between the lines and living in fear of malice as Yukinoshita Haruno pointed out. Recently, I have tried to be more open-minded with trusting in what people have to say, especially with Yuigahama and Yukinoshita. However, it would seem my cynical nature can't be completely changed seeing my suspicions are rising, and the only way to quell them is to confront her directly.

Regrettably, I would have wanted to investigate this and confront her myself later, but that won't happen as Yuigahama opens the door to the clubroom, all of us surprised to see a lone, female, silhouette standing before the window, looking out as the sunset masks away any visual features other than her curves and hair.

"Do you guys know what happens after a great calamity?" She inquires. "The world Flood in biblical times, the Pacific War that decimated our country, the American Civil war. All of them have something in common." She pauses, expecting us to answer as we exchange glances with no avail. "Things progresses after extreme catastrophes. Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, reborn anew. No matter the circumstance, _Life_ always progresses forward. And to be quite honest with you three… I like that. The congruency of progression. It is all just one, gigantic, _pattern._ And the thing about patterns… at a certain point…" The silhouetted girl slowly steps away from the window, physical details revealing themselves to us. I look to see the surprise on Yukinoshita and Yuigahama upon beholding who it is before us. "You stop learning."

"T-Taira-san…" Yuigahama utters.

 **What do you think? Reviews are highly encouraged.**

 ***Shout-out to Ripa Moramee, the potential one-man wrecking crew in Halo Wars 2**

 ****That line was inspired by Ed Wuncler III.**


End file.
